


The Rarest Lapis Lazuli

by Stinkulousreddous



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ancient Egypt, Blueshipping, Brief Peachshipping, Brief Polarshipping, Brief Vaseshipping, Brotherly Love, Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Canon-Typical Violence, Cobaltshipping, Comfort/Angst, Complete, Dub names, F/M, Friendship, Light Angst, Mention of Underage Relationship, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Sennen Items | Millennium Items, Teamwork, brief nudity, no explicit sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 31
Words: 89,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28813032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stinkulousreddous/pseuds/Stinkulousreddous
Summary: With the help of a lovely blue lady, Seto Kaiba comes to terms with his past as the Priest. Pegasus rallies the gang to fight a returned and strengthened Zorc.Switching first-person perspectives told by Seto, Joey, and Mokuba. (Dub names used.).Completed!
Relationships: Atem/Mana (Yu-Gi-Oh), Honda Hiroto | Tristan Taylor/Kawai Shizuka | Serenity Wheeler, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kujaku Mai | Mai Valentine, Kaiba Seto/Kisara, Kisara/Priest Seto, Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner/Mutou Yuugi, Priestess Isis/Karim
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Budding

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from Fanfiction.net -- this is an old fanfiction that I have a soft spot in my heart for despite its pretty obvious "Julie discovered a Thesaurus in 2010" lmao. I always wished there'd be more notes on how Seto Kaiba felt after the events of YGO: Duel Monsters Season 5 and his experiences in Egypt (in the anime at least), so here's my take on how he might have come to terms with his past as the Priest!

Maximillion J. Pegasus was a man known eminently for his incredible confidence and energy. Friends would say that he was unstoppably sanguine; that his attitude always pushed him forward in his endeavors. Be it researching the most microscopic atomic particles to drawing the cuddliest of Duel Monsters for his new sets of cards, Pegasus put his heart into what he loved and stopped at nothing- _nothing-_ until he had satisfied his goals.

It was unlike Pegasus to leave anything untied or unfinished; and, one of his lifelong goals had not been realized. He had been married young; married to a woman his age, married to the woman of his dreams. He'd had everything planned: to become a famous painter, to become a parent with his wife, to live comfortably in the countryside.

However, this was not to be: disease had gripped Cecelia Pegasus and quickly had taken her life. Pegasus had had his dreams violently ripped out of his clutches, just as everything had been going so right. Desperate, he had researched the Ancient Egyptians' myths regarding the afterlife, searching for a clue that could perhaps reverse the effects of death. He had flown to Egypt and obtained an artifact- the Millennium Eye- that offered a momentary reunion, but ultimately, all of his attempts to resurrect Cecelia using the Eye had failed.

…But his thinking had quite recently changed. Had he been wrong…? Something in the deepest recesses of his heart longed to return to Egypt; to use his resources to extract the tablet that had supposedly been destroyed. Perhaps if he was not to use technology or sorcery to revive his beloved wife, at least owning the Eye again would remind him of the love that he had for her: that he had been willing to go to such lengths to see her again… not a reminder of his eventual failure, but a reminder of his eternal determination.

Unable to properly explain it to himself, he nonetheless picked up the telephone. Thirty minutes later, he had confirmed the availability of his private jet and archaeological team to travel to the Egyptian village of Kul Elna.

Pegasus was smart enough to know what could come from dabbling with the powers of the Millennium Items; he had, of course, seen it firsthand already. He'd found that even his immensely intelligent mind had been overwhelmed by their abilities; he wasn't a violent or harmful man by nature, but his innate happiness and kindness had been suppressed when he was influenced by the Eye years ago. He knew very well the mythology that hovered over their creation.

He also knew what happened when the items were brought together. There was a tablet in Kul Elna; a stone carved thousands of years ago, that, when the Items were placed into it, opened the door to the afterlife. It had been set in place for the Great Pharaoh, Atem, to leave the depths of the Millennium Puzzle and go forth to Heaven after banishing the dark god, Zorc, to Hell- and, these events had all taken place. Months ago, Yugi Mutou had stood before this tablet, and placed the seven Items into it, and the door had opened, and Atem had departed; finally. It was what was right.

Excavation had taken long and tedious hours of work for even the most specialized of archaeologists hired by Industrial Illusions. But, soon enough, Pegasus found himself traveling through the tunnels of the dug-out old temple; lights had been strung along the walls by his team, leading the pathway right to the demolished room where the temple and door were. Indeed, everything was here, still- surrounded by rubble, and the doors were cracked and broken- but there were the Items, scattered around the room.

Pegasus spotted the Eye immediately. He swallowed hard and picked it up tenderly, as if greeting an old friend- it was heavy and cool in his hand. He was glad to have it back; he was lonely and it certainly comforted him. He was glad that he had come here to get it. Maybe it wouldn't bring back Cecelia, but _having_ the Eye was honestly the next best thing.

Pegasus looked around the room, at the other glittering Items lying scattered around the floor. The tablet had served another purpose: to summon the horrible soul of Zorc. The previous owner of the Eye- the man named Akhenaden- had stood in this same spot, and placed all of the Items into the stone slab here, and Zorc had been summoned to the village-

No, Atem had destroyed Zorc. Zorc was gone, and that's why Yugi Mutou was able to successfully use it to open the door to the afterlife, not summon anything evil.

Pegasus swallowed hard. He had to keep the Eye. He _needed_ it. …but, Atem had defeated Zorc in Bakura's game world. Atem had banished Bakura's soul from the Millennium Ring in real life, and defeated Zorc in Bakura's game world. …if Zorc was defeated in Bakura's game world, he was actually defeated. …right…?

 _Well,_ Pegasus thought to himself, _let's not take any risks._ The Items should be separated, protected… should Zorc still linger in the stone slab, at all. Really. This was a good move. This way, he could have the Eye just like he wanted- needed- and the stone slab was unrelated to anything. Pegasus knew just the few people who were trustworthy enough to hang onto the other Items.

"Croquet?" Pegasus asked pleasantly, exiting this room and approaching the men who were standing just nearby. "Will you set my plane for a new destination? I need to take a quick swing to Domino City, Japan."

* * *

_**Chapter One** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

If you turn Yakou Tenma upside-down, his head kind of looks like an old lady's saggy titties.

I studied the picture with amusement until I reached the staircase that led to the first floor. I was the vice-president of a multi-billion-dollar corporation, and I was now on a mission that had, quite recently, been made of the very utmost importance.

Once down the staircase, I entered the first room to the left. "Okay," I sighed.

"Tenma! Exotic; I like it. Thank you," my brother panted eagerly, wiping sweat from his forehead and taking the picture from me. "This isn't a bad picture of him, you know. You can barely see the shit-encrusted ass hole in the middle of his forehead."

I chuckled as Seto removed the thumb tack from the enormous punching bag that hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room and pinned the photo to it. Well, I really did have an important job: I was extremely glad to see that Seto had found healthier ways to channel his anger, opposed to the somewhat-more-unhealthy horrific theme parks that he'd used to build. Seto had taken up boxing in the last little while, and to keep him motivated, I'd been printing pictures of …well, frankly, our most hated rivals. Even now, crumpled and torn pieces of paper containing the faces of Pegasus, Ziegfried von Schroder, Saruwatari, Joey Wheeler, Yugi and Gozaburo littered the ground. He had just gotten done beating up the Saruwatari picture.

Seto slid the boxing glove back onto his hand once he was sure that Yakou Tenma's picture was firmly fastened. He swung his arm back and began to pummel the punching bag. His fists hit the picture so hard that every impact made me wince. He was extremely strong: he had a naturally thin and tall build, but the new habit of exercising had clearly been putting him into better shape. He had gained muscle weight… replaced with this his older habits of forgetting to eat and sleep.

"Seto, will you teach me how to box?" I asked hopefully, having to raise my voice slightly so that he could hear me over the racket that he was making. He looked fantastic… I wanted to look in good-shape like that, too.

He shook his bangs out of his eyes and looked over at me. "Okay," he said quickly and breathlessly, before adding, "Another time, though. I haven't quite gotten over the whole Wicked-Avatar deal; leave me, for the time being."

"Thank you!" I replied happily.

He nodded and breathed, "I suppose I'll tell you your first lesson, now. Channel your hatred into your fists. Tell your opponent that he's a damn cheater who can't control the power of the god cards anyway because he's a pussy who was raised by the king of all pussies."

"Don't you have a more universal method? That won't work as well on, say, Alister," I asked, chuckling.

Seto's eyes glistened. "Ohh, that's a good idea. Bring his picture down here tomorrow, will you?"

"Okay," I chuckled, and left him to his business. I was surprised that he had the energy to exercise, today: it had been a long week. Seto and I had just returned from America- a few nights ago, twenty thousand pairs of eyes watched as a single orb rose into the sky and then burst into twenty thousand drops of light. I had been standing, cross-armed and proud, in a suite lined with glass; an observatory tower that stood in the middle of the park. KaibaCorp had just opened its second theme park- this Kaiba Land, in Tampa, Florida, in the United States. That night had been the first night that the park was open to the public- and, the spectacular fireworks show was the perfect ending to the day.

As we had watched the ending ceremonies, I had looked up at the man standing next to me: my brother, Seto. He had a fixed, focused stare out the window, overlooking the embodiment of our dream: to open theme parks like this all over the world that children could attend. We knew firsthand how important things like that actually were to children who had no families… the happiness caused by one day that lasted much, much longer than that.

I smiled up at him. Maybe his mouth was set stoically straight as he stood, perfectly still and tall, but I knew that this façade was not actually real: he was happy. In fact, I would have bet that his heart was glowing. My brother was a powerful, intelligent man. He had a cold demeanor that pretty effectively hid the warm heart that I knew rested within him.

The show was soon over, and the manager of this park came to the tower where we were standing to bid us goodbye. We were returning home tonight; it was a long flight home. "Thank you very much for hosting us here," I told the portly man, in the most polite English that I knew.

The man had chuckled at me. Surely my accent was thick, but I knew that my grammar was good! …no, it was probably that I was …well, twelve. I was used to this. People didn't take me seriously yet… maybe they might once I reached five and a half feet. Either way, Seto looked down at me for a moment and then said, in a much clearer, sharper tone, "I trust that you will uphold all of the regulations that I have set for you?"

"I most certainly will, Mr. Kaiba, and I'm looking forward to doing it!" the man had replied jovially, extending his hand to shake Seto's. I thought for a moment. I was unfamiliar with the word 'certainly,' but got the jist of it from his happy tone.

Seto had nodded approvingly and looked down at me and said, "Come on."

I'd followed Seto down to the helicopter pad where we would be taken back to the airport to fly home. I was so happy to see that these parks were successful. Seto and I had been dreaming of moments like these for years and years- long ago, he had said, as a 9-year-old, "Mokuba… this isn't how it's going to be for us. I don't want you to worry… so, I'll be your father now. One day, I am going to get us out of this place, and we will have a good life and I will raise you. I promise."

He'd kept this promise. We'd been through so unbelievably much- living through a horrendous adoptive family, suffering under horrendous rivals who were after our company… hell, our very _souls_ \- but, he'd kept this promise.

…Was yesterday Saturday? As I climbed the stairs back to my bedroom, I realized that I had forgotten that I was actually guilty of doing something terrible. ...really terrible. Figuring now would be an okay time to admit my crime because Seto was probably too tired to chase me, I walked back down the stairs and practiced my best adorable smile and made my eyes as enormous as possible. I ruffled my hair a little bit so that it fell in layered curls, and then said, "Um, Seto?" hesitantly.

Breathless (the picture was already extremely crumpled and torn), he looked over his shoulder at me. I continued, "It's good for our company to make money, right?"

One eyebrow raised. "Well, so, see, since it's good for our company to make money, I sold, um, a bunch of day-passes for the main arena to Joey and Yugi. They've …um, been in our arena, like… um, the entire week."

His eyes bulged, but I had already started sprinting back up the stairs, to avoid the venom that the freaking scary spitting cobra that I'd just created was going to shoot at my very vulnerable little inner organs. I'd saved myself; now, I felt slightly bad for the poor punching bag…

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

It was a lovely Sunday. The sun was shining. The grass was lush and green. It was June of 1998. The air was hot but actually pretty pleasant. I was in the large, flowery courtyard in the midst of the towering KaibaCorp building downtown. It was a great day…

…for a fight with my best friend.

" _Damn you!"_ I shouted at Tristan Taylor, who was trying to get out of my strongest-ever vice-grip headlock. " _You look at my sister one more time and I swear you're gonna wake up dead tomorrow!"_

"Joey, _stop_!" my sister, Serenity, begged.

She was standing near where Tristan and I were tussling. Little Serenity, with her pretty, long red hair and innocent hazel eyes, was the light of my life. I existed to protect her, and that's exactly what I was doing right now. "Serenity, you got no idea what this guy's capable of. He's a damn pervert, that's what he is."

"Oh yeah?" Tristan gasped, tugging at my arm. "Look who's talking, Sir Jacks-a-Lot!"

" _Why I oughtta-"_

Serenity, despite herself, giggled. "It's okay, Joey. Really. I can handle it. I promise!"

I frowned at her and let Tristan go. Gasping, he stood up and brushed dust off of his leather jacket. He coughed and said, "Damnit, Joey, let her make her own decisions for once. I'm not gonna kill her!"

"No. _I'm_ gonna kill _you_ , yeh bastard." I said.

Tristan leapt on me again. We punched and kicked and flailed angrily. Serenity was shrieking at us to stop fighting. Then, I heard Téa's voice go, "oh, no… not again."

Tristan and I paused and looked up to see Yugi and Téa approaching us. We had all arranged to meet at the KaibaCorp building to play some holographic card games. Mokuba Kaiba gave us permission to use the dueling arena as soon as the building opened. It was now 9:00 in the morning. "Sup, guys," I said, from being tangled around Tristan.

"What are they fighting about, now?" Téa asked. "Which one has the smellier socks?"

I stood up. "Forget it," I said, looking back over at Tristan. His hair, normally gelled and spiked, was hopelessly messed up. His narrowed greenish eyes were glaring at me. I flipped him off and walked over to Yugi and slapped him on the back. "'Sup, buddy," I said.

"I'm doing well, Joey," he said, raising an eyebrow at me. "But, um, is everything okay?"

"Sure," I said, with a shrug. Tristan came over to where we were and greeted Yugi and Téa, too.

"Good," Yugi said and sighed. "Are you guys ready to go play cards?"

"Yeah!"

Card games were the top hobby of my group of friends. Yugi was the greatest duelist in the world! Yugi… little and puny and had about the weirdest hairstyle I've ever seen, but I _adored_ him. His friendship made me strong.

We had all been through a lot lately. Not long ago, we had all gone to Egypt, because we needed to put the soul of Atem, the pharaoh, to rest. It was a bittersweet moment… but, now, things were the way they should be. The Millennium Items were buried under mounds of rubble. Zorc was gone. Atem was at peace. It was hard to get used to not having him around, but we were all managing. Life was good: we were seventeen (well… _I_ was seventeen. Yugi and Tristan had already turned eighteen, Téa's eighteenth birthday was only a month and a half or so away, and Serenity was newly sixteen), approaching the end of high school, and living our dreams.

We entered the KaibaCorp building… we'd been playing card games here every day this week, because Yugi had gotten a reservation. We were the first ones in here, in the morning, like this. "Hello?" Yugi asked an employee who was dusting a statue of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon (there were quite a few of them all over the place). He turned around. "Oh, Yugi. You have a reservation, don't you? Is today the last day that you are playing here?"

"Yeah," he said. "Thanks!"

Atem might have gone away to the afterlife, but we never stopped doing the thing that brought him to us: playing games. Duel Monsters was more than a hobby, to us. I'd say that pulling down girls' skirts at school to check out their underwear was a hobby; Duel Monsters was more like a way of life. We'd bonded with our monsters and through that, bonded with our friends. Call them what you will: card games were beautiful, beautiful things.


	2. Cactus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pegasus recruits the gang to do some more research on the Millennium Items.

_**Chapter Two** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

I spit into the sink and then smiled up at my reflection. I was in a good mood today! School would be easy today- probably not any pop quizzes or anything. It was going to be a good freaking awesome day.

I wet my hand and ran it quickly through my hair. I shook my head quickly and my thick yellow hair fell messily into place. I shot a grin at myself, in the mirror. I was a good-looking guy. In the right light, my eyes looked gold… gold, like a reflection of my gold heart. Yeah!

I had bought myself some new clothes recently. Right now, I was just wearing my favorite boxers. They were black, with little cartoon dogs on them. I went back into my bedroom and opened my closet. I had cool T-shirts with various insults on them, ranging from the village missing their idiot to the garden missing their ho. But, it was a school day. I dressed into my uniform and grabbed my sling backpack.

"Bye dad," I said, jumping over the railing of our first-story apartment. I landed clumsily on the ground and started running to school. I wasn't late. I just felt like running. As I reached downtown, I heard someone yell, "Joey! Wait up!"

I stopped and turned around. Bakura was behind me, waving at me, running towards me. "Hey man," I said, once he was closer to me. He was out-of-breath, but seemed to be in a pretty good mood. He had really changed since we got rid of the evil spirit in the Millennium Ring. Bakura was also a good-looking guy already, but getting rid of the evil spirit seemed to give his dark eyes a bit of a sparkle. The girls adored him… he knew I was jealous.

I could feel that today was going to be a good day, oh yes. The weather was great and hot, again, like it was yesterday. There was a bit of a skip in my step as Bakura and I crossed the school's front lawn towards the front doors. I saw our group of friends crowding around near the entrance. Bakura and I joined them. I clapped my hand on Téa's shoulder because she was standing closest to me now and bade everyone good morning.

This group of people, here, standing in front of me, was what I lived for. If it wasn't for them, no doubt I'd be in a gang, or failing out of school, or who the hell knows. These guys made me strong and made me a good person. I had completely renounced my ways of getting into fights- although, I did have some decent memories of fights. One time, I'd thrust this guy into an outhouse at a construction site and then tipped it over. He'd burst out of the damn thing covered in diarrhea and piss. It was so funny. But, no, I don't do that kind of crap anymore.

Beaming at me were the faces of Duke, Yugi, Téa and Tristan- long-haired, green-eyed Duke was the handsomest, most-girl-beloved guy in the school, alongside Bakura. He was kind of like Kaiba when it came to how we became friends- he used to be a cheating, conniving ass, but, unlike Kaiba, actually turned into an awesome, nice guy when he became friends with Yugi. Yugi did have that effect on most people. Yugi was very influential. I sometimes got surprised that I didn't do everything like him, yet- I mean, I'm an individual and all, but Yugi knows how to do crap right. Like when he gets into fights, he uses monsters and shit, and I think that's just a little bit cooler than that I once used actual shit and shit. Not that much cooler, but it was still cooler.

"Hello, everyone," Bakura said. I looked over my shoulder and saw that, right on time, the usual groups of girls were standing around, oogling at Duke and Bakura. Sigh.

Tristan had earbuds in his ears and was headbanging to whatever song he was listening to. I didn't trust this. "What's this?" I asked, snatching an earbud away from him.

"What- _no_!" he gasped. "Hey, I'm listening to that!"

I stuck the end of the bud in my ear and laughed richly. He was jamming out to one of the newest hit pop songs called "Fun"- it was _certainly_ not the manliest song around. Tristan was a pretty manly guy- he owned a damn motorcycle- but this was kind of hilarious.

" _Fun?_ Pretty awesome," I laughed, shoving the earbud back at him.

Growling, he took it, and insisted, "Come on, that song is great. You know you like it." I made a kind of "pfffff" noise as everyone else laughed.

"No, Tristan, I like that song," Yugi admitted slowly, and he sang, _"Be cool. Be cool. I've got my eye on you, baby. Be there. Be there. Your face makin' me go crazy. You know. You know. I want you and that's about it. Your love. Your love. Please don't make me go without it."_

" _Thank you!"_ Tristan shouted as we all were wiping tears of laughter from our eyes. He and Yugi joined in a duet: " _Our night will never be through. Time together, just me and you. You will never see, you'll never see your life in the same way."_

"Dude, you guys never cease to amaze me," Duke chuckled. Then, the school bell rang, and we all hauled our asses inside.

* * *

"Die, you stupid bastard!" I shrieked loudly at the television, hours later. "Die! Die! Die! _Die!_ _Yes!_ "

It was relatively late in the afternoon. I was playing my favorite first-person shooter video game. I had beaten it about a hundred billion times before, but it never got old. I was real good at it.

It was late in the afternoon. I heard the door open and shut. "Yo, dad," I shouted, over the sound of the television.

"Put your dick in your ass, Joey," was the drunk reply.

I was used to this. My dad and I had a horrible relationship. Ever since he and my mother got divorced, we didn't even have a family. This was mostly why Serenity and I were so close. My father hated me. He was ashamed of my fighting record and barely-scraping-passing grades. Whatever. I didn't care, anymore, what he thought of me. 

The phone rang. I set down my pizza slice and video game controller and lifted it off of the receiver. "Yo," I said.

"Joey," Yugi said, on the other line. "I got a message from Pegasus just now. He's in town. He wants to see all of us."

"Pegasus?" I asked, confused. I didn't really like Pegasus… once he lost the Millennium Eye, he became a lot less creepy. But, he still never ceased to freak me out at least a little bit. "What does he want?"

"He didn't say. But, he says it's important. He's calling Kaiba right now," Yugi replied. "Can you come to my house, now? I told Pegasus he could meet us here, with Tristan and Téa."

"Yeah," I said, supposing, why not. "I'll be right over."

I entered Yugi's house twenty minutes later to see the sitting room filled with Yugi, his grandfather, Téa, Tristan, and Pegasus. I frowned at the scene. Generally, when Pegasus wanted to see us all like this, it meant that something was wrong. I hated when things were wrong. It always meant that huge crap was going to go down, and that generally ended up sucking.

"Hi, Joey," Yugi said, as I sat down next to him. This was strange. Why were we doing this…?

Pegasus clapped his hands together happily. He was a tall, disgustingly cheerful man who never really grew up- he was eight years older than all of us, but he was significantly more immature… or, so he seemed to be. Several times he'd proved to us how freakishly smart and cunning he was. Of course, every time, it was a bad thing. At least since Bakura had taken the Millennium Eye from him a few years ago, he had become more reasonable to work with- you couldn't help but respect him at least a little bit because he was the creator of our favorite game… "Good! Now that we're all here, I've got something big to show you!"

I frowned again. Did he invent some new card game, or something? What does he want?

Pegasus pulled back a lock of his silver hair. We all gasped when we saw that the _Millennium Eye_ was lodged into his skull, again.

" _How did you get that?"_ I gasped aloud. "The Millennium items…"

"…Were not destroyed, if that's what you're thinking!" he said. "I wanted to have the Eye, again. Here's the thing- I'm a bit nervous. Atem has gone to the afterlife. You know this. But, the world of his memories was put on by a shadow game, initiated by Bakura, who is also gone… but, that's the thing. It was a _game._ Do you know what I'm afraid of? I'm afraid that it's possible that the only thing accomplished from it, really, was the releasing of Atem's and Bakura's souls."

Nobody said anything. Pegasus continued, "…not Zorc's. Is he still out there? I don't really know. I sent my excavation team to Egypt; they were able to find the destroyed tomb where we left the Millennium Items. We took the Eye. Now we have to go down there and get the rest of the items."

"Go to Egypt?" Téa asked, surprised. "Why didn't you bring them all with you, now? Why do we have to go there?"

"I don't want to touch all of them! They aren't mine to handle! They can't be together like that!"

We all exchanged uncomfortable looks, but Pegasus went on, "My team has cleared a path for us; they have found the tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories under a pile of rubble," excited, now. "I think the best thing in the world would be to give each of you a Millennium Item. That way, not only are they out of the tablet… because you know that Zorc needs them all to be together in order to resurrect if he's going to… but, you kids can control monsters in the case that Zorc is doing well on his own…"

"What, you want us to fight monsters with you?" Tristan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"If it comes to that!"

…actually, that was pretty interesting. If I had a Millennium Item, I could summon a God card. That's pretty cool. What were the odds that we couldn't defeat Zorc, especially if we summoned Horakhty in real life? Sweet.

"I wanna do it," I said.

Pegasus smiled at me; everyone else frowned. "Isn't it dangerous…" Téa began.

But Pegasus insisted, "It's dangerous not to! The truth is, it may be nothing. It may be absolutely nothing. Zorc may be long, long, long gone and that's very likely. I'm just worried of the off-chance that he's not very long gone at all. Please, won't you all do me this favor?"

She frowned, but then said, "Well… okay…" hesitantly.

"Cool!" Tristan said, having the same attitude that I did. "You're going to take us to Egypt?"

"Absolutely! Bright and early tomorrow morning, if you kids want! It's a long flight, even with my high-powered plane."

"You said you talked to Kaiba," Yugi said, as Pegasus stood up to leave. "What's he doing?"

"I called him after I called you. He asked if the aliens forgot to remove my anal probe."

Tristan snorted with laughter. Pegasus sighed. "So, to answer your question, Yugi-boy, he's just giving me trouble, like he always does. But, we need him- who better to hold a Millennium Item… particularly the Millennium Rod… than him? I'll get him to come with us. You'll find I can be very persuasive."

I didn't really like the sound of that, but agreed that Kaiba should come with us. He pissed me off almost all the time, but I had to say that, without him, we probably would have been trapped in many more horribly sticky situations than usual. He's saved my life quite a few times, I hated to admit.

"Fine," Téa said, "What time do you want us to meet at your airport?"

"As early as possible, tomorrow morning," Pegasus said cheerfully. "We must get a move-on! How about 5:00 A.M.?"

I groaned, but Yugi said, "Okay, I guess."

"Don't worry," Pegasus chirped. "My plane's high-powered engine will reduce the travel time by a little bit!"

* * *

We walked onto the private airplane bright and early the next morning. It was large, for what it was- there were ten rows of seats that lined the sides of the plane. Yugi, Téa, Tristan and I had all ridden on this plane before. We had all ridden here to go to Duelist Kingdom, the first time the Orichalcos had given the world trouble. The seats were in groups of four, situated so that they were facing each other.

I leapt onto a chair and bounced for a moment. The seats were very comfortable. Yugi sat down next to me.

Tristan began to sit down in the seat across from me, but before he did, he asked, "Wait, is that Kaiba over there?"

I turned my head over my shoulder and looked at the group of seats that was behind us and saw the strangest thing I'd ever seen. Kaiba and Mokuba were sitting in two of the seats- sitting up, but their eyes were closed and they were …wearing pajamas. I knitted my eyebrows. They were both wearing button-down nightshirts and long pajama pants.

What were they doing there, like that…? I stood up out of my seat and approached them. "Hey, Kaiba?" I asked.

Neither of them moved. I was startled to see that they were both hardly breathing, and their heads both hung limply on their chests. They couldn't be just… sleeping?

Téa came up behind me and asked, "You don't think Pegasus… like, drugged or tranquilized them… do you?"

Yugi and Tristan came over to where we all were standing. I looked at Téa. "I wouldn't be totally surprised if that was true…"

"Hello, everyone!" Pegasus said, happily, from behind us. We all turned around. "Oh, you've found the Kaiba-boys. Funny sight, aren't they? Although, I must admit that I admire their taste in pajamas! They match, and everything!" He giggled and came and stood near where all of us were standing.

"Dude, are they okay?" Tristan asked, somewhat angrily- we could all tell, by the look of their pale faces and scarce breaths, that they weren't just sleeping-

"Well," Pegasus sighed, "You know Kaiba-boy. No matter how much and how nicely I asked, he just insists on not playing along… so I did what I had to do!"

 _Drugs. I knew it._ But, then, Pegasus started fumbling in his coat pocket. Then, he pulled two cards out of his pocket and held them up. They looked like hand-painted portraits. One of them featured Kaiba, and the other, Mokuba. "What're you…" I began, but then, Pegasus said, "You're looking at their poor empty shells, lying there. We simply _need_ them to cooperate, so I put their souls into these cards!"

There was a moment of silence; then, Téa shouted, " _What?_ Pegasus, that's _crazy!_ Don't… don't do that to them!"

"Why not?" Pegasus asked casually. "They'll only _die_ if I leave them like this for a whole day… it's only been a few hours, now. They're fine. I'll put them back once we're in the air!"

He skipped off, leaving the four of us standing in stunned silence.

"I don't like him," Téa said, shakily, after a moment. 

We were all frowning at the Kaiba brothers' crumpled figures. But, what could we do for them? We all sat back down in our seats and the plane started moving. I looked across Yugi out of the window and saw the scenery go flashing by. Then, I felt the wheels of the plane leave the ground. Here we were, going to Egypt, again. Yet another fantastic adventure to add to my collection.

Pegasus returned after we had been in the air for a few hours or so. "I guess I ought to wake up the Kaiba boys," he said happily. He took the cards out of his pocket again and pressed the cards to their necks. His Millennium Eye glowed for a moment. Then, both Kaiba and Mokuba recoiled and took deep, shuddering breaths.

"Hello, boys!" Pegasus chirped happily.

Kaiba's hand gripped the armrest of the seat tightly. After a second, he forced his eyes open, and Pegasus leaned over him and said, "Good morning!"

Kaiba's hand clutched at his stomach. Obviously struggling to breathe properly, he weakly yet furiously gasped, " _Pegasus… you bastard…"_ before coughing.

Mokuba whimpered and leapt out of his seat and rushed past us, towards the bathroom. Kaiba watched him go worriedly for a second but then Pegasus said, "Oh, come on, don't be mad!" Kaiba looked back up at Pegasus. "We're going to have a _grand adventure_! This wouldn't have happened if you had just agreed with me and come along!"

"Just… _come along?"_ Kaiba snarled, between sharp breaths and frequent flinches from pain. I was actually scared. I didn't think I had ever seen him so angry. "I'm a …damn… _businessman_! I can't just… come and …go on _adventures_ with you guys! And to force me… to, like this…"

"You won't regret this one," Pegasus said, happily.

Kaiba now clutched at his chest and said, "You… are going to _pay_ … for this…"

Pegasus seemed unafraid. He walked off gaily, pleased with what he had accomplished. If I was him, I would have probably jumped off of the plane by now.

Mokuba returned, looking pale and shaky. He whimpered, "I threw up."

Kaiba sighed, rubbing his forehead, and said, "I'm sorry. Are you okay now?" Mokuba nodded miserably and slunk back into his seat.

"Are you guys okay?" Téa asked.

Kaiba looked up at her. "Okay enough," he said.

Téa nodded and said, "I'm sorry Pegasus did that… do you want me to ask the stewardess for hot tea for you guys, or something?"

Kaiba's eyebrows raised, some. He said, "Well… yes, I suppose. Thank you." Téa walked off to find the stewardess.

It was a somewhat hesitant situation, as Kaiba had never really been friends with us. Mokuba was good-natured and was often friendly, but Kaiba's stupid self-worshiping piece of crap attitude and asshole insulting speech made him real hard to get along with. Part of me knew that deep down… _way_ deep down, he was a pretty somewhat kind of decent guy, but the majority of me was constantly furious with his put-downs. Though, we had all been on so many adventures together that, the truth was, we had all done each other huge favors, and all respected each other at least a little bit.

Téa returned with the tea a few moments later. Drinking something warm brought color back to both of their faces. After a moment, Kaiba looked at Yugi and asked, "Do you have a cell phone with you?"

Yugi nodded, but said, "What, you want to make a phone call? Isn't that a bad idea, on a plane?"

Kaiba had this incredible talent for having the shadow from his bangs over his eyes make him look extremely threatening. That look on Kaiba's face immediately told Yugi that there was to be no arguing. Yugi reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone and handed it to him. Kaiba stood up somewhat shakily and walked to the back of the plane and out of sight.

Mokuba watched him for a moment before finishing his drink and setting it down. "Thanks for getting that for us," he said to Téa.

She asked, "Does your stomach feel okay?" He nodded in response.

"What happened to you guys?" Tristan asked. "Like, did Pegasus just burst into your house?"

"As far as I know," Mokuba said, with a shrug. "I woke up when I heard Seto swearing at him. I went to investigate, and I saw that Pegasus was standing in his room, and by the time I had gotten there, he had already knocked Seto out- I guess he had leapt out of bed to confront Pegasus, because I found him on the ground." He sighed. "Pegasus turned around and saw me, and didn't even give me a chance to react before his stupid eye flashed and I felt this horrible pain right here…" he pointed to the spot directly over his heart, "and then of course, we woke up here. I don't know how he managed to get into the house. When did he get his eye back?"

"Not long ago," Yugi muttered.

Kaiba returned, then, and handed the phone back to Yugi, and sat back down in his seat. Pegasus came up to us a little bit later. He cheerily said, "We're about to land. Are you all ready?"

Nobody really said anything. I shrugged and Pegasus clapped his hands together once. "Good!" he said. "Oh, by the way, Kaibas… I'm sorry that you have to wear your jammies to the pyramid." Kaiba scowled. "I didn't want to go digging through your closet to get clothes for you… but, I did find your shoes!" He pulled two pairs of shoes out from under another seat. I hadn't noticed them before. "There you go. Well, get ready to get off of the plane!"

He walked off. Grudgingly, Kaiba and Mokuba put on their shoes and stood up. They seemed healthy.

"Let's follow Pegasus," Yugi said.


	3. Wisteria

_**Chapter 3** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

Pegasus' plane was small, so it landed on a tiny little makeshift landing strip that his crew had set right in front of the temple in Kul Elna. We all stepped off of Pegasus' private airplane and into blazing, violent sunshine. I loosely held onto Seto's hand. Pegasus _sucked_. I wanted to just go home. I wanted nothing more than that. My stomach still felt upset and I could tell that Seto had pretty much never been in a worse mood, and that was really saying something. We'd been on that damn plane for almost a freaking day.

Pegasus cheerily led the way into a dug-out temple. Sprawled all over the place were his workers and their tractors and stuff. We entered the first room. The ceiling was low and artificially held up with metal poles. I wondered if this place would collapse or something while we were back here.

"Almost there!" Pegasus said, happily. We walked through seemingly endless hallways… this place was significantly larger than it looked from the outside. Lights and candles were strung up so that it was light enough to see. If I wasn't so freaked out by Pegasus, I might actually have marveled at how cool this tomb was… the drawings on the walls, the carvings… quite a history lesson. It was really beautiful.

Finally, we reached an enormous stone room. I gasped in surprise, despite myself. There was a lot of debris lying around, and there were two enormous doors that were shattered and led to just another wall. There were stone slabs that lined the walls, featuring ten-foot-tall carvings of monsters. In the middle of the room was the tablet that contained all of the Millennium Items. I could tell that, once, this room was spectacular.

"Of course you all know about the Millennium Items," Pegasus said, as we all gathered around the tablet of the Pharaoh's memories, kind of standing in a circle around it. "Naturally, you've come in contact with all seven of them. But, allow me to explain some things that you may not understand.

I frowned at the tablet. I was kind of unsettled. I really didn't want to be around here.

"The items are all similar and all different. Each item has the power to summon monsters in a Shadow Game… each has the power to control matter… which means that you can point an item at someone and make them fly!" Tristan and Joey's eyebrows raised, and Pegasus kept talking. "Each has the power to seal a person's soul into quite literally any solid object, and each has the power to view a person's 'soul room,' which is essentially a place in the depths of your mind that completely describes your personality and everything that makes you… well, _you_!" he sighed lovingly, then lifted some of the items out of the stone slab.

"Each item has its own special abilities, though. My Eye can read minds." He handed the Scales to Joey. "The Scales can measure the amount of evil in a person's heart and can combine monsters to create new ones." He then came up to me and placed the Ring in my hands. I looked down at it. I knew Bakura used to have it… it sparkled golden, even in the low light. "The Ring can detect the locations of other items."

Pegasus went back to the stone slab and removed the remaining items before walking over to Téa and handing the Tauk to her; then he handed the Rod to Seto and the Key to Tristan. "The Tauk can predict relatively-major events that occur in the near future. The Rod can brainwash people into doing anything and everything you command. The Key can rearrange a person's soul room, essentially completely changing their personalities. And, the Puzzle…" He gave that one to Yugi. "Well, it's the symbol of the Pharaoh, as well as the item that can summon and control the ultimate Egyptian God monster, Horakhty."

All of us were examining the items in our hands, now. Nobody seemed to know what to do with them or what to say about them. After a moment of silence, Pegasus chirped, "The items bend to your will. They can also defend you- if you consciously know that an attack from another item may be coming, then the items' magical powers can automatically cancel each other out. Also, now that you each hold an item, you get to make a wish! Any wish you want- and it will come true. So, isn't this cool?" He looked at me and Seto. "Aren't you two glad you came? Now you have immeasurable powers, controllable at only your will!"

Seto didn't say anything for a moment… then, his expression softened. He slowly approached Pegasus. I was stunned, and I could tell that everyone else was, too. Was he actually going to apologize for cursing at him in the plane, or was he going to thank him for bringing us here? Pegasus was smiling… then, Seto raised his arm and punched Pegasus squarely in the face with a tremendous force.

I gasped in (admittedly pleasant) surprise. Pegasus stumbled, and Seto socked him again; this time, in the stomach- he keeled onto the ground, and Seto kicked him in the side, hitting his arm, too. Pegasus rolled over, concussed. Seto rubbed his knuckles for a moment and snarled, "Consciously expecting an attack, huh?"

I smiled widely, never ceasing to be amazed by how totally awesome my brother was. Seto bent over Pegasus and pulled the two cards out of his pocket. Had I not been so angry with Pegasus and creeped out by him, I might have marveled at how much the handsome portraits of Seto and me featured on the cards actually looked like us. Seto tore the cards into a lot of pieces and then dropped the scraps onto the floor in front of Pegasus' bleeding face.

Nobody in the room moved or had done anything to try to stop what had just happened… I found it very amusing that each of them probably agreed that Pegasus'd had this coming and deserved this. Seto looked around the room at everyone else's stunned faces, and said, "Come on. My helicopter should be getting here soon."

"Helicopter?" Téa asked, confused. "Why? And… how could they be coming soon?"

Seto frowned. "I'm the C.E.O. of a multi-trillion-dollar corporation. I can't get kidnapped out of my bed without the entire world knowing about it. I called Roland on Yugi's phone. My people are coming for us. I have a base in Cairo that can reach us quickly."

I beamed up at him. "Let's get out of here," he said busily. "I hate being in the same _country_ as Pegasus, let alone the same room."

"What should we do with him?" I asked carelessly, pointing back at Pegasus.

Seto made a "psst" noise and said, "He'll come to eventually and then take his own plane out of here. Forget him."

"I want to try the items out!" Joey exclaimed.

Tristan cheerily agreed with him. "Mine can see how evil you are, huh?" Joey barked at him. "Come here, you lousy pervert. Let me see your evil heart."

Tristan laughed as Joey held the scales up to his chest. The scales didn't move.

"You're a good liar," Joey said. Tristan rolled his eyes. 

Téa put the Tauk around her neck and Yugi looked right at home with the Puzzle hanging from his. He told us, "We all get to make wishes, guys."

"Does it really work like that?" I asked Yugi, to which he smiled and nodded.

I looked up at Seto, who sighed, "Well, very well, then." He closed his eyes and clutched the Millennium Rod to his chest. "I wish that very soon, I would see the thing that made me happier than any other man on Earth." He opened his eyes and looked down at Pegasus and gasped. "Look; my wish has already come true; a beaten, bleeding, particularly unconscious Pegasus has filled the hole in my heart and made me complete." He mockingly sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye and then frowned deeply again and turned around to continue walking out of the temple.

I gazed down at the Millennium Ring. I'd had one wish that had lingered in my mind since the day I met Gozaburo… I wanted to see my brother happy again. I wanted to see him wake up in the mornings with a smile on his face. I was pleased to see that more and more this was happening… he was happy with the progress of his theme parks being built, and I knew that he was accomplishing his dream… but, we still had a ways to go. Lately he'd evolved from hating the world to simply mocking it… it was an improvement, but I wanted lots more.

Seto was already walking towards the exit to the room. I turned to follow him. I heard the footsteps of the rest of the group following us. I heard Joey laugh and yell, "Ey, Kaiba!"

Seto lazily turned around and opened his mouth to probably say something like "What, you incompetent orangutan," or something like that, but instead, he just stood there, looking surprised…

"…Seto?" I asked cautiously. Why wasn't he saying anything…? He was just staring forward, eyes wide.

Everyone stood in uncomfortable silence for a brief moment. Then, both Seto and Joey took quick, sharp breaths. Seto rubbed his forehead quickly for a second. Joey laughed and teased, "'Ey, Kaiba, I saw that picture of your mom in your head. She's hot!"

" _Hey_!" I demanded angrily. Seto frowned and held the Millennium Rod up to Joey's face; instantly, his eyes went blank and face went expressionless.

"Obey me," Seto commanded sternly. "For the rest of your life, every time you pass by a fire hydrant, you will stop whatever you are doing and go urinate on it."

Yugi, Téa and Tristan all gasped; I stuffed my fist in my mouth to stop from laughing. Seto said, "Mention this to him and I will make the rest of you suffer similar humiliating fates," to Joey's friends.

They all stood in stunned silence and Seto then took the Millennium Rod away from Joey's face, and Joey shook his head and said, "Wh… woah, what was that?"

"What was what," Seto demanded. "Don't insult my mother."

"I wasn't insultin' her!" Joey insisted. "I said she's hot!"

I led the way out of the pyramid, following the line of candles on the wall. We entered into a world of glorious sun and nipping winds. I frowned around at the landscape. Maybe Egypt could be a place to spend my birthday?

My helicopter landed in front of us only moments later. We all climbed in, and then we had lifted off of the desert and were soaring through the sky.


	4. Petunia

_**Chapter Four** _

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

I leaned back in the armchair near my desk in my bedroom hours later. My throat was sore; I had just finished shouting myself raucous at the security guard who had failed to notice that Pegasus had broken into my house. I was tired. Sleepily I glanced at my desk, where the Millennium Rod was lying.

There was something _about_ the Millennium Rod. Something was familiar about it… according to the stone slab that Ishizu had shown me, I had once possessed it. I was starting to believe this more and more; something about it seemed so enigmatically _nostalgic_.

I reached over the back of the armchair and picked up the Rod; even without light striking it, it seemed to glitter golden. It wasn't just a metal stick. It had …an _intelligence_ , or depth, to it.

Strange. This was the first time that I had ever really gotten to look at it. I inspected the sleek protrusions from the side of the orb on the top of the stick. The eye that was carved into the front was not just looking forward… it was _staring_. I pulled at the top of the orb; the top half of the rod slid off, revealing a sharp, thin blade. I examined it, interested. The knife part was almost razor-thin, and about seven-or-so inches long… it looked sharp. I gently prodded the tip of my finger to the tip of the blade, and was surprised to feel how much it hurt. Curiously I stuck the blade into a notebook on my desk and watched the blade slide through the paper effortlessly as though the paper was made of butter. I put the bottom half of the rod back onto the blade, covering it.

…Could I use this item? Once, I had possessed the power to convene monsters from stone, with this… I also knew that Marik had once used the Millennium Rod to brainwash people and go into their minds. I think I successfully brainwashed Joey, too. What else could the Millennium Items really do?

I got a sudden idea. If I could control this item with my willpower, then perhaps I should test it. Marik had once gone inside of Mai Valentine's mind; could I do the same thing, except, on myself? I closed my eyes and pointed the top of the rod towards my face. Then, I sat in silence, and thought, _Show me what I think._

To my immense astonishment, I felt my breath catch in my chest for just a moment- I opened my eyes hastily.

I was no longer sitting in my study. I was standing in a … _room._ It was a relatively large room; dimly lit, and the air was just nippy… everything was white or light-blue; the walls, the ground, marble...

I gulped and looked around. In front of me, on the ground, there was a die-cast model of an amusement park. The rides were enormous, colorful, and looked like they were very enjoyable. I smiled down at the park for a moment before looking at my right; there stood bookshelves featuring books written by the most intelligent scientists and prose writers that the world had ever branded… a giant mirror was propped up next to the bookshelves, and in it I could see my reflection; pale and stunned, but with a look of wonder that was completely accurate.

Over my other shoulder stood an elegant chess board sitting on an end table; the pieces were lined up perfectly, waiting to be played… near it, a backgammon board and virtual-reality helmets sat patiently.

I turned around and saw a kind of altar set up on an enormous glass table behind me. In incredulity I approached it and found several framed pictures; I picked up one of them and stared into the eyes of myself, as an almost-5-year-old child, awkwardly holding an infant, wrapped in a blanket… the baby had a few tufts of black hair; the figure of me was smiling.

I chuckled and set it down and picked up another picture; a picture of myself at the age of perhaps seven, with Mokuba as a two-year old child; standing behind us, with one hand on my shoulder and one hand on Mokuba's, was a man… I recognized him. _My real father..._

I frowned sadly at the picture. He looked very much like Mokuba. He had the same dusty eyes and same choppy hair… only, his was a kind of dark brown. He was a handsome man; he looked as though he was about as tall as I was, now. I set the picture down and sighed. My mother had died when I was almost five years old… so, she wasn't in this picture.

Mostly I was happy being a dominantly solitary creature; I liked working alone, and I liked fighting alone… but sometimes, privately, I wondered what it would have been like to really know my real family. I had forgotten what it was like to have a father who loved me, and forgotten what it was like to love a father. Gozaburo had been so horrible, that I had thought nothing of family, with, of course, the exception of my little brother… but, this man in the picture that I was holding now had a kind smile.

I had only a few isolated, scattered memories of what my life with him was like. He always used to sit at the breakfast table and read the newspaper. I remembered that I would always go sit with him, and he would carry on deep, political conversations with me. He had been very intelligent and had taught me well, so young.

There was one more picture on the table. It was of a woman, holding a baby… I couldn't believe it. This was a photo of my mother, cradling me; the picture was now almost eighteen years old. I had used to try to strain my memory to recollect what my mother had looked like. She was featured in the picture as a tiny, thin woman with long, thick, light-brown hair and large, deep-blue eyes… she was beautiful. I frowned. Part of me really did wish that I could have gotten to know her. I set the picture down and decided to explore more of this room.

I walked back to the model amusement park and crouched down to get a better look at it. Of course the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was featured all over the place. I loved it. This was exactly what I wanted to do with my company's money- make as many of these parks as possible and allow children from orphanages to receive free admission to them. I had already started construction on some of them; the first one had been finished in time for the Grand Prix tournament months ago.

I stood back up and looked upwards; I saw a massive portrait that spanned the entire diameter of the large, square ceiling. I swallowed hard. I…. recognized the person in the portrait. The person featured there was a woman… she had long, sweeping white hair, crystal blue eyes, and a soft expression that comforted me even in my shock of being here. She was young and completely devoid of evil.

I could have stared into her eyes for hours; perhaps I did. I looked at the picture for what felt like minutes, or days, or months… something about her… I had seen her in my dreams so many times. She was always with me; watching over me in life, as she watched over this room that I knew was nestled deep in my heart. She loved me.

I finally forced myself to look away from her, startled at how a longing pain had begun to form very deep inside of my heart. I looked down at the Millennium Rod, again. I was done. I wanted out of here.

I took a sharp breath and lifted my head off of my chest and looked around, suddenly. Without any warning at all I was back in my bedroom, sitting in the large armchair. The Millennium Rod was in my lap. I swallowed hard. _Incredible_. I had just seen a place where all of my dreams and desires were manifested right in front of me. I exhaled deeply and set the Millennium Rod onto the coffee table next to me. I leaned back in my armchair and closed my eyes. I was still somnolent.

I was later jerked out of my sleepy stupor by an enormous commotion just outside of my window; a squirrel had leapt onto a tree branch nearby, shrieking horribly and thrashing around. I frowned. Was it rabid?

It kept up with this act for a surprisingly long time, to the point where it became somewhat fascinating to observe. I sat and watched it chaotically climb around the tree's branches, chittering riotously, for what must have been minutes on end. Then, suddenly, it jumped onto the branch closest to my window, and, to my surprise, leapt off of the branch and through the open window and into my study.

" _Augh!"_ I yelled, ducking just in time for the squirrel to sail over my head and run rampant around the room. I stood up and chased after it; it ran across my chairs and under filing cabinets and tables and leapt up onto my desk, tossing papers around as it passed; tearing up my folders and books.

" _Damnit!"_ I yelled, trying to snatch it, but it was too quick for me- Mokuba burst into the room suddenly, Millennium Ring dangling from his neck. He gasped and leapt past me and landed cleanly on top of the squirrel, grabbing it- the squirrel squirmed and shrieked in his hand.

"Good catch," I wheezed, goaded and breathless. "Damnit. Don't let it scratch you."

Mokuba laughed, holding the panicking squirrel up by the tail. "He won't."

"Put it outside," I said.

Mokuba ignored me; he, instead, held the squirrel up to his eye level and snarled, "That'll teach you to cheat, you asshole!"

"Mokuba…?" I asked, thoroughly befuddled. He was talking to the squirrel?

He laughed and looked up at me. "My friend Oshiri came over. We were playing a video game, and he cheated, so I put his soul into this squirrel."

My mouth fell open. "You… _what?_ No… _"_

"The Millennium Items are totally awesome," he said blissfully, as the squirrel in his hand still tried desperately to get away. "All I had to do was look at him and point the ring at him and kind of will it to happen. There was a squirrel outside of my window in that tree…"

I was floored. I kind of stammered, "Mokuba… that's a bad…" I sighed. "Mokuba, don't abuse the power…"

"Come on, let me do this. I'm only teaching him a lesson!" he insisted. "I'll put him back eventually."

I smirked. I had taught my brother well. "Well, you have about 24 hours before he goes cold and dies. Make sure you put him back before then. I don't want a lawsuit on our hands."

"I love you, Seto!" he sang gleefully, and ran out of the room, squirrel dangling hopelessly (and very noisily) from his hand.

I sat down at the dinner table that night. I was alone; I looked down at the handsome plate of chicken and vegetables in front of me. I was just pouring myself a glass of milk when Mokuba entered the room. "Hey," he greeted me cheerfully; I looked up at him and had to suppress a chortle when I saw that he had put his friend-squirrel into a cage and was carrying him around. He set the cage on the table; the squirrel was still going completely mad. I couldn't help but find this exceptionally funny.

Mokuba was still sneering at the cage. "How long until you think he's learned his lesson?" I asked, having to raise my voice slightly to be heard over the raucous squirrel.

"Eh, I'll put him back after dinner, I guess," was the slipshod reply. "It's been… what, six hours now?"

"Something like that," I said, beginning to cut up my dinner.

Mokuba shrugged. "Yeah, okay. I guess we know how much it sucks to be in his position, right?"

I frowned. Yes, we most certainly _did,_ except for that at least Mokuba actually intended to spare his friend's life. The first time I had dueled with Pegasus, he'd had no aim of restoring us. Damnit, I hated him.


	5. Meeting Magnolia

_**Chapter Five** _

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

It was eleven o'clock when I finally finished my paperwork for the day. I closed my laptop and sipped the last dregs of the cup of hot tea that I had been drinking.

The Millennium Rod was sitting on my bedside table. I lazily looked over my shoulder at it for a moment. The lights were low in the room; but, somehow, it was still glittering…

I frowned at it and stood up out of my chair and pulled my shirt off and sat on the edge of my bed. I thought of something: Marik had said that my memories had been sealed into the Millennium Rod. It had activated a few times before… and, I had seen the events of the past, and seen the Priest that I was supposedly connected to.

Despite myself, I reached forward and picked up the Millennium Rod. How did those memories appear… the one during my duel with Ishizu, for example… what did I do? What had happened to activate it? The Egyptian god cards had been put in place months ago… the power was unlocked… Bends to my will, Pegasus had said… well…

I clutched it and thought hard _: I want to see the past_.

Suddenly I felt lightheaded; the world dissolved in front of my eyes; everything went black. My heart was pounding ferociously. This _… was working_!

I felt the ground materialize under my feet and legs; I was still sitting. I could feel that my eyes were closed. The world sounded different… there was a sort of rushing noise nearby and I could suddenly feel a dramatic increase in the warmth of the air. Dare I open my eyes…?

I did. I cracked them open and was utterly dumbfounded to see that I was staring at an enormous river, only feet from me. It felt as though it was early in the morning. On my lap was a tablet and in my hand was a chisel. _Unbelievable._

I looked down. A tall blue hat, and the Millennium Rod, lied on the ground next to me. I was sitting in the sand; I stood up. I could feel the weight of the Priest's elaborate clothes; I ran my hand down a part of the sweeping cape that hung from my shoulders. I was wearing elaborate tan-and-blue robes; gold plates decorated my forearms and waist. I looked down at my hands. My skin was dark; but, I still had long, thin fingers…

…Who was I? I walked to the edge of the river and knelt down to look at my reflection; I was astounded at what I saw looking back at me. This was the face of that man who I'd seen in the reflections that burst behind my eyes during the Battle City semifinal match. This man who I possessed was known as the High Priest. His hair was darker than mine; it was almost black, now, and I was amused to see how long it was- it hung to his shoulders; I made a note to tell Mokuba that we shared a relatively-similar hairstyle. His eyes were darker than mine, too; blue, but just deeper… I could see that even though the Priest was in better physical shape than I was in the present, we were the same height.

I stood up _. Incredible_. So much was so similar. We could absolutely have been identical twins.

"Set," came a voice from behind me. I turned around. It was the Pharaoh, approaching me. I had to physically restrain myself from gasping aloud. It really, seriously was _Yugi_ \- same insane, pointy hair… still only four and a half feet tall… only, of course, he was adorned in gold. …how was I supposed to act, around him? Should I bow? Um…

I bowed my head towards him, and he raised an eyebrow. Crap. "Hello, my king," I said. The words from my mouth were in a language that I wasn't intending to speak or understand… and yet, I did understand it. The Priest's voice was just as deep and rich as mine. "Do you need something?"

The Pharaoh was looking at me in a very puzzled way. _Shit_. Did the Priest not usually act this way? How should I act, then? He frowned. "Have you forgotten about the trial?" he asked. "What are you doing, out here?"

Trial? I looked down at the stone slab. What had the Priest been doing? I quickly noticed that he had been carving a picture into the stone slab. Immediately I recognized the picture on it as a drawing of Obelisk the Tormentor. …he was a good artist.

"I was carving a picture of the god of the Obelisk into the stone," I replied quickly. "I am sorry. When does the trial start?"

"In a few hours," was the annoyed rejoinder, "but, we need to gather our monsters."

Gather our monsters? A spark of excitement actually arose in me. When he said 'trial,' did he mean that we were going to assemble monsters to perhaps execute someone, or fight someone?

"Excellent," I said.

The Pharaoh nodded and said, "Come with me. Priest Akhenaden and I have been looking for you for a long time."

 _Oops_. I apologized again and picked up the Millennium Rod off of the ground and put my hat onto my head. Now I was even taller, particularly more so than he was- it was amusing seeing that I was easily, now, at least two and a half feet taller than he was, and yet, he was more powerful than I was. Or, was he, really? Hmm.

I followed him away from the banks of the river and back up to the incredible palace. I had to force myself to have a straight face; otherwise, I would have probably stared, open-mouthed in awe, at everything, here. The many stone columns were colossal and sturdy; the palace's design was elaborate and regal. Paintings were carved into every wall. I couldn't help but profoundly respect this people's culture for being able to construct things like this without any kind of technology or machinery.

I also had to keep reminding myself that I hadn't _actually_ gone back in time, or anything. The Millennium Rod was allowing me to experience the world of my past memory- I wasn't actually _in_ it. I had to remind myself that I was inhabiting a different body; Seto Kaiba was currently lying on a bed in his mansion. Even though I was interacting with people, here, this was, for the most part, fake. Still, though, to get the full experience of this place, I figured I should act as much like the Priest as possible. So… _how did he act_?

The Pharaoh led me to an enormous throne room. Six other people were in here, already. I couldn't help it; I gasped aloud. The Pharaoh turned to me. "Are you okay?"

"I… I coughed," I said quickly. "I am fine."

But, no, I wasn't fine- I could have easily been in cardiac arrest at that moment; I _recognized_ some of the people in the room! Standing in a group near the throne was… Yugi's grandfather, Ishizu Ishtar and Rishid Ishtar! _How_ …! This was definitely them… the woman, there, who had the Millennium Tauk, looked just like Ishizu… the man standing next to her, with the Millennium Scales, looked just like her adopted brother, Rishid- albeit with fuller hair-… and then, standing right next to the throne, was a tiny, shrunken man who looked just like Solomon Muto. Destiny was a strange bastard. Was any of this coincidental?

I forced my face back into a straight look; a man approached me. He had the Millennium Eye lodged into his skull, replacing his left eye… he didn't look like anyone that I currently knew. He scolded, "There you are. Please don't lose track of time."

"I am sorry," I replied. Was this Akhenaden, who Yugi had just mentioned? He must have been; the way that this man spoke to me, I believed him to be a teacher of some sort- he was much older than anyone else here.

But, yet… I felt a strange, unexplainable hatred in the depths of my heart. Courtesy of the scattered memories that had begun to spring into my mind, I knew that Set had fought battles with the Pharaoh, and expected that the remnants of memories would evoke feelings inside of me- Some, though, I didn't even remotely know how to begin to explain. Among others during several duels during Battle City, I'd seen visions of Set holding the carcass of a woman in front of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's carving. I had much to learn about this time.

…What, actually, was the Pharaoh's name? What were anyone's names? Did everyone have the same name as they did in the future, or was I the only one, or…? Was the Pharaoh's name "Yugi?" I supposed that I would have to simply address everyone by their titles until I heard them call each other by their names.

I didn't know what everyone was going to do, next. Something about summoning monsters, right? I started becoming petulant and impatient as the other priests were just standing around, talking and planning. I crossed my arms and looked around the room, some more. Elaborate paintings and carvings covered the ceiling and walls; the floor was a dyed-red reed.

Finally, one of the priests whom I didn't recognize turned around and announced, "The man will be brought before us, soon. Let us take position."

Take position? _Finally_! The Pharaoh sauntered over to the throne and sat down. The man who looked like Yugi's grandfather stood next to the throne; the other five priests stood in lines of three in front of the throne. I found myself standing between the woman who looked like Ishizu and the man who held the Millennium Key. I was excited. The priests all bowed their heads. I did, too; but raised my eyes to the doors as much as I could.

The doors opened. Several guards came in, dragging a man with them. They shouted, "Pharaoh! This man was caught intruding on the tomb of the former Pharaoh!"

"I stole nothing," the man gruffly demanded. "There was no treasure there."

 _Ouch,_ I thought to myself, suppressing a cruel chuckle.

" _The place where the Pharaoh rests is the territory of the gods!"_ a guard shouted at him. _"There is no excuse or forgiveness for any intruder!"_

 _Yesssssssss_ , I thought. What are we going to do, with monsters? I heard the man who looked like Yugi's grandfather mutter things to the Pharaoh, then, he shouted, "You will be judged by the seven Millennium Items!"

Oh, no. How did I use the Millennium Rod, in this case? The man to my left stepped forward. "I, the Priest Shada, will see through the heart of this man!"

Shada. That's his name; I made a point to remember that. He approached the man and held up the Millennium Key. I was astounded to see a large, thick shadow burst forward from the man.

The old man shouted, "I, the Priest Akhenaden, will reveal the identity of this monster!"

The shadow materialized into a many-legged, vicious-looking monster. I cringed, but then recognized the monster as a relatively-low level one that had been featured on a card. A mild wave of disenchantment struck me; this was a common monster in Duel Monsters. Yugi's grandfather bellowed, "Priest Set! Seal it into the stone slab!"

 _Shit._ How should I do that? How should I use the Priest's power? I stepped forward. Should I introduce myself to the prisoner, as the other two priests had? It seemed somewhat stupid… "A monster of this level is boring and easy to seal," I sneered instead, voice convincingly strong. I held up the Millennium Rod and thought, desperately, _seal this monster into the stone._

Astonishingly, the monster shrieked and flew backwards into the stone. A picture of the monster materialized into it. It was done. The man fell to his knees. That was interesting… but, I wanted to actually _fight_ a monster…

"Well done, Priest Set," Akhenaden encouraged me.

I grumbled, "The Pharaoh may be bored by this. Shall we punish the criminal in the dungeons?"

He frowned in response; he insisted, "The evil is gone from him. There is no need."

"No," I maintained eagerly. "Trespassing into the tomb of the Pharaoh should have no forgiveness. We should imprison him."

Akhenaden knitted his eyebrows and then demanded of the guards, "See to it that he does hard labor for seven years." They nodded in approval and walked away with the man.

The scene then melted in front of me; in a flash, I found myself sitting at a large, round table with the Pharaoh, the man who looked like Yugi's grandfather, and the other five priests. A golden plate of food was set in front of everyone. Did the Priests always eat dinner together? I shook my head quickly and looked down at my plate. There was strange-colored food, there; what was this? I was relatively well-educated in foreign cuisine, and yet, I had never seen this sort of grainy-looking vegetable before. There was a piece of meat there, too… from what animal, I wondered. I took a moment to remember that forks hadn't been invented yet; everyone else was using the tips of their fingers as utensils. Strange as experiencing these memories were, it _was_ a fascinating history lesson.

"Set," Akhenaden said casually, from his seat next to me. "Perhaps it is none of my business, but I must inquire… your nineteenth birthday is not far. You should consider finding a wife."

I choked on the vegetable that I had just put into my mouth. _Eighteen?_ I was almost nineteen? I didn't consider that maybe the world of my memories took place when the Priest was a different age than I was. "Um… yes," I stammered. "I… suppose that I have not thought about that, because I have other duties in my life… I feel like, now, I must protect the Pharaoh, and not worry about starting a family…"

Akhenaden chuckled. "Headstrong, of course," he muttered amusedly. I swallowed hard. Of course, it was usual for men Set's age, here, to be considering marriage. Still, what an alien idea to me.

But, if Set was eighteen, then, how old were the other priests? The woman who looked like Ishizu may have been in her mid-twenties… maybe everyone else was about the same age. The Pharaoh and Set seemed to stand out in how young they were. The priest who had the Millennium Ring looked like he may have been the oldest, next to Akhenaden, who was clearly at least forty-five or so.

I remembered that I didn't know anyone's names, yet, and wondered how long I would be able to get away with it. I tuned into their conversations, more, to pick up on a time when maybe someone would address someone else by his or her name…

The Pharaoh sighed. "Bakura still worries me," he mused. Bakura? Wait, _really_? Was he here, too, or was that a coincidence…?

"His Diabound is amazing," the priest who looked like Rishid said thoughtfully. "I shudder to think of what it can destroy."

"I did sense an incredible evil from him," Shada murmured.

The Pharaoh frowned. "We must begin formulating plans to stop Bakura's trail of thieving. Perhaps start a new army, or…" his voice trailed off.

I got an idea and figured it appropriate to say something. "My king," I began, "Perhaps it _would_ be a good idea to start an army. I believe I know how I can bring together powerful monsters to fight against Bakura's Diabound."

The Pharaoh's eyebrows raised. "Really," he inquired, "Tell me."

"With all due respect, I wish to speak with Akhenaden about it, in private first," I said. It was a somewhat controversial idea, but I knew that it would work. "May I?"

The Pharaoh frowned, but then muttered, "I trust you, Set. Do as you wish."

 _Cool._ Akhenaden was raising his eyebrows at me; most of the people at the table were.

"Mahado," the man who looked like Yugi's grandfather began, "I believe it would be wise for you to guard the former Pharaoh's tomb, again. We must return his body to the tomb; we also must be sure that Bakura never returns."

The priest who wore the Millennium Ring nodded and said, "I will see to it." Okay, so that one is Mahado. He looked familiar, now that I noticed… but I couldn't put my finger on it…

"ATEM!" came a shrieking, loud voice from the doorway to this room. The hairs on the back on my neck stood up. " _Lord Atem, my love!"_

A girl was standing in the doorway. She entered the room. "Good evening, everyone!" she sang, far too cheerily. She was clearly one of those happy-skippy girls always plagued by cheerfulness. Everyone else greeted her as "Mana." I was more interested in knowing who "Atem" was. One more name for me to know.

She went over to the Pharaoh and sat down next to him and put her hand on top of his. I resisted the urge to laugh out loud. The Pharaoh had himself a woman, did he! Well done, Yugi. Annoying as she sounded, she was at least pretty, and was holding a scepter- she looked like, underneath all of that childishness, maybe she held some kind of power.

I then noticed that she looked rather like the Dark Magician Girl. …Fascinating.

Ah! Wait, she had said, "Lord Atem, my love." Meaning, the Pharaoh's real name was Atem. Isn't that something… all this time, I had been calling him "Yugi" or "The Other Yugi…" now, I finally knew his real name.

"Good evening, Mana, my dear," the old man who looked like Yugi's grandfather, said. "Have you had a good day?"

"No," she whimpered. "I have not been able to spend any time with Lord Atem or Master Mahado. They have been so busy fighting to stop Bakura, today." Atem chuckled at her. "I am very sorry," he said.

"Mana, you must understand how busy the Pharaoh is," the Ishizu-looking woman said, frowned.

"Sorry, Priest Isis," she pouted.

Isis. That was cool; she was named after a great Egyptian god, as Set was. In Egyptian mythology, Isis and Set had been siblings. Funny.

I continued eating as I tuned into the conversations around me, trying to pick up names, here and there. I learned that the priest who held the Millennium Scales was 'Karim,' and that he and Isis were married. I couldn't help but chuckle at how in the future, they were adopted siblings. Peculiar. I still didn't know the name of the man who looked like Yugi's grandfather.

"You are being very quiet tonight, Set," Karim said to me, later, once everyone was mostly done eating. He chuckled. "Do you not have some sort of snide comment, to add? Or, are you frightened to find a wife, as Priest Akhenaden suggests?"

Oh, so these guys had a sense of humor…? Really? "I have simply not thought about finding a wife," I admitted, feeling my face go red.

There was then a flash of black, and I couldn't breathe-

I jerked my eyes open. Chest heaving, I looked around; I was in my bedroom, lying sideways on my bed. I pushed myself up and gulped. That was the most incredible thing… I'd felt _… like I really was in Ancient Egypt…_

I ran my hand through my hair and looked up at the clock on my bedside table. The time was only 3:00 in the morning; I wondered how accurate to real time the Millennium Rod's visions were. I set it down on the bedside table and clicked off the lamp. I slid into my bed, knowing that I should fall asleep; tomorrow… well, today, rather, was a school day… but I wasn't tired in the slightest. My mind was racing. I felt so strangely _connected_ to the Priest… how many times had I been told that we had the same soul…? It was hard to believe that, but…

I rolled onto my side and nestled against a large feather pillow and forced my eyes closed.


	6. Cultivating

_**Chapter Six** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

" _Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"_

It had now been a few days since we had gotten the Millennium Items from Pegasus. Tristan and I had snuck out of our houses to go abuse the powers of the Millennium Key and Scales again. I found myself falling at what felt like a million miles an hour through the warm night air. Tristan and I had thought about what Pegasus said- that the Items can make you fly, and stuff. Well, we had tested the power by jumping off of our own houses and using the items to freeze us in our tracks inches before we hit the ground and splattered our guts all over the place.

We had tested it enough. It was 11:00 at night. Now we were going for the ultimate jump: off of _KaibaCorp's headquarters building in downtown_. It was the tallest building in the region. A while ago, Mokuba had given Yugi the pass-code that opened the front doors after hours so that we could play all night. I remembered the code, so Tristan and I had snuck in and gone to the roof of the building, more than sixty stories up, and thrown ourselves off of it.

" _This is so awesome!"_ Tristan screamed as he fell, parallel to me. The ground was getting closer, and closer, and-

We both held our Items out. A foot from the ground, both of us froze in midair. All we could do was hang there and laugh and laugh.

"Seriously, man," I gasped, surging with energy and wiping a tear from my eye. "How the hell did we ever have fun before we got these things?"

"I don't know. Want to go again?" he asked, falling the extra foot to the ground.

" _Shit yeah!"_ I shrieked, also willing the Millennium Scale to let me fall the rest of the way. I hit the ground and leapt standing.

Tristan pushed himself up and asked, "Do you think Kaiba's got some security cameras set up, here?"

"Who cares," I said lazily. "We ain't stealin' anything. If Kaiba sees us, he'll probably shit his pants and then tell us that we're ugly gorillas and then do nothin' else about it. Oh, hold on a second, I've got to take a piss."

I went over to a nearby fire hydrant and unzipped my pants and began to pee on it. Tristan laughed at my 'ugly gorillas' statement and reminded me, "'Cept, we're trespassing, right?"

"Kaiba wouldn't have us arrested," I dismissed him, finishing going to the bathroom and zipping my pants up. "Much as he hates to admit it, we've both saved his ass a few times. He wouldn't send us to jail."

Tristan shrugged, and both of us started running towards the front doors of the KaibaCorp building. Tristan punched in the code and the doors opened, and we ran for the elevator. I hit the button that would take us to the top floor. Tristan exited the elevator behind me when we reached the top floor.

The next morning, Tristan and I were sitting smugly in class. We couldn't wait for all of our friends to get here so that we could brag about jumping off of the KaibaCorp building. Bakura and Duke were already here. Duke's seat was directly behind Tristan's, and Bakura's was on the other side of me. Yugi's desk was behind mine, and Tea's was next to his, behind Bakura.

When Téa walked in, I got an idea. She bid good morning to all of us and began to sit down in her desk. I turned around in my seat to face her and said, "Hey, Téa..." in a very sing-song manner.

She looked up from unpacking her backpack. "You only use that tone of voice when you want something. What do you want?"

"I was wondering… I'm not consciously blockin' Millennium Item powers now… so, uh… would you mind tellin' me the answers to the quiz that we're going to have today?"

Téa frowned and sat down. "I'm not going to use the power of the Millennium Tauk to help you cheat, Joey," she said sternly. Tristan chuckled. "Worth a try," he shrugged. Téa closed her eyes for a moment. Then, when she opened them, she shook her head slightly. "Although, Joey, I will tell you that within the next few days, you're going to cry on Kaiba's shoulder, watch Pegasus take a bath, and eat meatloaf for dinner."

"Yeah. Funny," I said, turning around in my desk and looking up as Yugi came and sat next to me. I greeted him, leaning back in my chair. Now that everyone was here, it was time to tell the story. I was extremely excited. They were gonna love us. They were gonna think we were so awesome. "Okay, everyone, you'll never guess what Tristan and me did last night."

"Yeah!" Tristan said. Everyone looked up at us. "Huh?" Yugi asked.

"Remember how Pegasus said that we could use the Millennium Items to make people fly-" Tristan began, but was interrupted by a horrible shriek from the front of the classroom. Surprised, everyone in the class looked in that direction. The teacher had opened her desk, and some sort of green gunpowder-looking substance was filling the room… then, we saw that the things on her desk had started _exploding-_ I was stunned to see chunks of her apple hit the walls. Then, her stapler dissolved into nothing, and then her notebook caught fire. _What the hell_ …

" _Wheeler! Taylor!"_ the teacher screamed. " _I know this is your doing! Go to the principal's office, immediately!"_

" _What?"_ Tristan and I demanded simultaneously, leaping out of our chairs. "We didn't do nothin'!" I shouted.

" _I won't hear another word! Go to the principal's office, both of you!"_ she yelled, as more things on her desk caught fire- there went her binder, then her pen… Tristan and I left the room, shuffling angrily.

The stupid asshole principal, who never liked us anyway, ended up giving us three months of detention for playing the prank on the teacher... _and for once, we actually didn't do it_! Tristan and I returned to class. Swearing angrily under my breath, I sat down at my desk and opened it. I was surprised to see a note in my desk… I hadn't opened my desk yet today, and had never seen this. I looked over at Tristan and saw that he had the same note in his desk and was reading it. I looked down at my letter and read:

_Trespass in my headquarters building again, and I will personally see to it that the both of you are immediately sold into military slavery._

We both sat in horrified, stunned silence for a moment. "Well, he didn't have us _arrested,_ " Tristan said miserably after a while.

I crumpled the note and threw it back into my desk. _Exploding powder?_ Damn Kaiba and his stupid genius asshole son of a bitch technology…!

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

"Come, then."

The words were leaving my mouth and were directed at Shada. Careful not to look surprised or confused, I thought of how to insert myself into this scene. What was the Priest doing now? I realized that suddenly, a part of me was feeling apprehensive and… sad? …Inexplicably I remembered that between this moment and the dinner table scene that I had witnessed… Mahado, the priest with the Millennium Ring, had died; Bakura was now in possession of the ring.

I supposed that I was following Shada to do something. Shada was walking out of the palace; I kept swiftly at his heel .What was I doing? Then I thought of something: how often did the _Pharaoh's High Priests_ go into town? This must be a big deal…

Shada was frowning at me as I climbed onto my chair. The guards near us picked up the poles that the chairs were attached to, and they started to carry us into town. Adroitly keeping my face stoic, I asked Shada lazily, "So, what do _you_ plan to do?"

His eyes narrowed. "The Key can detect the monsters in peoples' souls without extracting them, if we choose to not."

I only allowed my eyes to widen for a moment. Is that what had happened at the trial? Do all people have monsters in their souls…? Evil people had evil monsters? I couldn't help but chuckle. What the hell kind of monster did _I_ possess, then? It made sense that the monster fit the possessor's personality. If they actually existed now, I imagined that Yugi probably had a sort of jittery Chihuahua as a soul monster; Wheeler would have a sordid diaper as a soul monster.

…Yes. That's what we were doing. I wanted to enact my plan: to find an army of monsters by taking them out of people that I found randomly. Excellent.

What a fantastic feeling. People bowed to us in the streets as we passed. I looked out at the seas of faces of villagers; Shada turned to me, and said, "You really believe we are doing the right thing."

"Yes," I asserted. "This way, we are both preventing crime and assembling an army to protect the Pharaoh. Perhaps these people have not committed crimes yet… but this will stop them from doing so, ever."

Shada pursed his lips in a way that suggested that he wanted to tell me that 'innocent-until-proven-guilty' was the best way to go, but I ignored him. I knew I had a good idea.

The guards stopped moving and I leapt off of the chair. Shada followed me; the guards brought a man before us. "We found him speaking disrespect to the Pharaoh," a guard said.

"Interesting," I mused, knowing that dissing the king was a big deal. "Shada, what do you sense?"

He held up the Millennium Key. A dark shadow appeared above our heads; I recognized the silhouette as that of Peten the Dark Clown. I had to force myself to not chuckle. This must have seriously been how Pegasus got his inspiration for making the card game itself.

"He has a weak evil inside of him, but it could grow," Shada muttered.

"Take him to the palace," I ordered the guards. _Why not have ourselves a Peten the Dark Clown,_ I thought. Shada frowned at me but didn't fight.

The man howled, " _I have committed no crime! You are fools in imprisoning an innocent man!"_

I could tell that Shada agreed, but I was not moved. I turned away from the man, but he shouted, "You waste your time on me! You have not seen the white dragon! _That is the monster you should hunt_!"

My heart stopped. _White Dragon!_ I turned around. "White Dragon? Tell me about it."

"It has _murdered!_ It has power to rival the Egyptian Gods…"

There was suddenly a ruckus at the end of the street. "Take him away," I ordered the guards again; Shada and I rushed over to where the people were crowding and shouting. As we approached, we could hear derision directed at someone; it soon became clear that people were also throwing stones.

" _Stop!"_ I barked at them. Immediately, the people made way for Shada and me; I growled, "What is the meaning of this?" I pushed past some men to see who they were throwing stones at. Perhaps they were throwing stones at a criminal, but if it wasn't validated by the Pharaoh, then, they had no right to castigate someone-

I then saw who it was that they were throwing rocks at, and the shock was so great that my heart literally halted... A woman was crumpled to the ground; a small, frail woman with long, sweeping white hair _…_

The world was at a standstill. _It's that girl._ I'd seen her in my mind before, and every time that I'd seen her, the baffling sadness had taken my breath away. I was desperate to learn more about her; to see the full extent of her power in action. … and, why had she made me feel so _lonely?_

I was shaken out of my stunned stupor only when Shada gasped aloud, grabbed my forearm and wrenched me backwards, shrieking, " _Get back, Set! Her power! It is too strong_!" He was holding the shaking and glowing Millennium Key in front of him, looking, horrified, at it.

"Stop," I commanded him, urgently trying not to seem too shaken or eager. "Do not trouble with that further." I turned to the guards. "Take her to the palace, but treat her well. Give her all of the food and water that she desires. I wish to speak with her later."

The guards were looking at me as though I was losing it, but they obeyed me- one of them lifted the girl off of the ground and walked off with her. I felt oddly terrible that she had been beleaguered like this- she hadn't been hit with many stones, yet; but, I could see bruises beginning to form on her arms. Shada sighed. "I am, honestly, _frightened,"_ he whispered. "I sensed such power… maybe not an evil power, but with strength to rival the gods… do you believe that she has the dragon that other man was talking about…?"

"Yes," I replied decisively. "I do, completely. That is why we must turn her into an ally. Her dragon is not evil."

"Are you sure?" he asked tentatively.

"There is nothing that I am surer of," I said firmly, climbing back onto the chairs. Shada sighed and sat next to me. It was fascinating; how come the other priests all seemed to listen to what Set said? Was he a higher rank, than them? He was certainly significantly younger than all of them, except for the Pharaoh, who looked like he was perhaps fifteen or sixteen… how come Set always called all of the shots? Only Akhenaden really ever bothered to correct me, but he was Set's teacher… well, I certainly didn't argue.


	7. Hydrangea, Photosynthesis

_**Chapter Seven** _

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

I was following a guard down a winding staircase. Dare I ask where we were going?

It was dark and… cold. Cold, which was peculiar; how far underground were we, perhaps? Was I walking into a trap, or…

We entered a large room that kind of resembled an arena. Astonished, I looked around. There was a large, open pit in the middle of the room with several chained platforms hanging over it… two men in shackles stood on two of the platforms, and massive, bulging insects hung over their heads. I gasped aloud. Was this a battle? A trial?

I trailed the guard to a row of ornate thrones. Akhenaden was sitting on one of them; he smiled at me as I approached him. "Look, Set - see the evil in these men fight. Build your army."

I turned and looked at the scene again, and with a rush of thrill, realized what was going on. The men were skirmishing, yes- here, I would see which monsters would be good to keep. This was _mesmerizing_ ; like the first forms of dueling. I sat down into my place next to Akhenaden, _quite_ excited.

"Bring the girl in," Akhenaden commanded a guard.

I frowned and looked at him. "Girl," I demanded. "What girl."

Akhenaden pointed at something that was behind me. I looked over my shoulder and felt every last drop of my enthusiasm evaporate on the spot. A guard was roughly pushing that white-haired girl into the arena; she now stood only feet from me. She was looking right at me- the trepidation in her eyes was incalculable.

I looked down at Akhenaden. "What are we going to do with her," I asked austerely. They wouldn't hurt a woman, right? _... right_? Akhenaden chuckled. "You act as though you did not ask for this. We are going to see how true the power of the girl's dragon is."

We were about to summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon…? I turned back to the girl; she shakily asked, "Are you Priest Set?"

I was a little bit surprised that she knew my name. I still didn't know hers."Yes," I said.

"Then, I must thank you," she continued timidly, bowing her head towards me. "Thank you for saving me from the villagers."

Slightly taken aback, I requested, "Woman… what is your name?"

"I am called Kisara," she answered timorously, eyes downcast. …Kisara.

Now the apprehension and desperation were returning to her voice. "So… may I ask, Priest Set … why am I down here? What …are they going to do with me?"

"You must summon your dragon," I said.

Her eyes widened. "Dragon? What do you mean?"

I knitted my eyebrows. Did she not know about the dragon? Akhenaden spoke up, from behind me, and explained about how there are monsters in peoples' souls; with every word he spoke, her eyes grew wider and face grew paler.

" _There… there is nothing like that inside of me…!"_ she gasped.

"That is not true, "I told her, controlling the energy my voice in an attempt to be gentle or reassuring; it worked somewhat. "You have a great power."

She continued to look tremulous and terrified. I turned to Akhenaden. "We cannot really force her to fight-" I began, but he silenced me with a raised hand. I looked diffidently back at Kisara and pleaded, "You will see… just, please go…"

A guard dragged her to one of the vacant platforms. One of the fighting prisoners laughed and barked, "A woman! How'd you like to join me in my room after the fight, huh?"

I curled my fists. That… made me _angry._

The guard shouted at Kisara to summon her dragon so that the fight could begin. All Kisara did was stand there and shake. I gulped. _This was nefarious…_

The monsters were standing in front of her, waiting… but, they were petulant… " _Come on, please_ ," I muttered to myself. " _Summon the dragon…"_

Akhenaden grumbled, "This is interesting. Why does the dragon not come to defend her in her fright? Why does it hide?"

The monsters abruptly and unexpectedly rushed at Kisara. My heart stopped; _I couldn't allow this to happen-_ I leapt out of my seat and yelled, _"Duos! Defend!"_

Instantly my monster materialized in front of Kisara and blocked the attacks. I was already running towards the pit- Akhenaden was shouting at me, telling me to get away from there, but I wouldn't abide by him _\- I had to do this-_

I ran onto Kisara's platform and stood between her and Duos, and in her disoriented fear she did nothing. The chained men guffawed and taunted me; saying, "The Priest wants to join! I have been waiting for this moment, you son of a whore- you are the reason we are in here-"

Another man commanded his monster to come forth and attack Duos. Immediately I recognized it, knowing how strong it was- _my monster wouldn't survive-_

 _Shit._ I'd be killed if I didn't do something. I had to stop the monster another way- suddenly I realized what I had to do: kill not the monster, but the man _behind_ the monster-

" _Duos!"_ I barked. _"Cut the chains of the platforms!"_

My monster lifted its aura sword and cleanly sliced through the metal chains that held all of our platforms above the void. I felt the ground beneath my feet wobble and knew that I had only milliseconds- I grabbed Kisara's arm with one hand and, as I felt the platform that we had been standing on break loose and begin to fall, I jammed a protrusion of the Millennium Rod into one of the link chains...

The platform cracked and broke and I felt myself begin to fall… fraught, I held onto the Millennium Rod… my fall was halted. Kisara was hanging in my other hand.

…I couldn't believe what I had just done. I couldn't _believe_ it; that it had actually _worked_ , that I had actually pulled it off… the man who opposed me first was plummeting, yelling; I was holding onto Kisara with one hand, and desperately to the Millennium Rod with the other… the Millennium Rod's edge was holding stiff in the chain…

" _Kisara! Speak to me!"_ I shouted. Her eyes were closed… _Shit-_

" _Set!"_ Akhenaden was yelling. I gulped and looked up, and was horrified to see that the other prisoner was still standing- his monster had been spider-like, and had bound him up in webs, and supported him. That man was laughing. He said, "Well, Great Priest! I never thought I'd have the honor of killing you, myself!"

I then felt something that I'd almost never experienced before, in my life- nor had the Priest, because it felt so universally unfamiliar: _complete terrified hopelessness_. What could I _do_ now… my arms were aching viciously already and Duos was trapped in a web, completely immobilized- could Akhenaden summon a strong monster in time to save me…? How… _how was I going to get out of this_ …? Was this… the moment that the Priest died…?

I then felt something incredible: a force that held my hand to Kisara's and made it so that I couldn't let go even if I had wanted to: something around her was glowing; brighter and brighter, and even the man who sought to kill me was fascinated enough to stop and watch…

Then, an incredible burst of wind blinded me for a moment; grimacing, I opened my eyes and saw that _the Blue-Eyes White Dragon_ was here; coiling its tail around the hanging forms of me and Kisara. This… this was _breathtaking._ Its gleaming wings were circling us and I felt as though I was cupped in an invulnerable cradle- It was … _protecting_ us. I had never felt so _enthralled!_

I could hear the exclaiming shouts of everyone else in the room. I looked down at Kisara; her eyes were still closed. Much as I was awestruck to see that the dragon was here, consternation gripped my heart again: would the dragon do anything if she was unconscious? Would it fight, or simply _be_ here…?

The prisoner's monster blasted an attack that rushed past us, and I yelled in fright in response- the alarmed shout barely had time to leave my throat before I felt the air around the dragon grow hot- it was tensing up, charging an attack; with an astounding burst of lightning that shot from the dragon's mouth, the arachnid-like monster opposing me shrieked and vanished; the man who controlled it was instantly burned alive- my heart was pounding ferociously and adrenaline rushed my veins like ice-

Then the dragon disappeared. I was alone with Kisara in the pit; I could hear Akhenaden's wheezing gasps and looked up again to see that he and all of the guards were staring, aghast, down at me. Air entered my throat hesitantly. My arms immediately started to throb in soreness again and I felt embraced and sheltered no more.

Then, using a long spear, one of the guards snagged the metal link chain that I was hanging onto and pulled it close to the ledge- I strenuously lifted Kisara up to the hands of the other guards and finally pulled myself up.

Akhenaden was clearly frightened and troubled. As I unsteadily stood up, feeling numb and achy, he threw his hands onto my shoulders and shakily demanded if I was okay. "Yes," I breathlessly answered him. I watched, exhausted, exhilarated and mystified, as another guard carried Kisara back to her room.


	8. My Lavender

_**Chapter Eight** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

I clicked open the door to Seto's room. He was sitting in his large armchair, eyes closed, head leaning back. He was sleeping, but it was dinnertime. I approached him and prodded his shoulder to wake him up and said, "Seto."

Surprisingly, he did nothing. He was a really light sleeper and normally all it took to wake him up was to even open the door to his room. I frowned and prodded him again. "Seto," I said, louder.

…he didn't respond. I became a little bit nervous. Was… was he _okay?_ I put my hands on his shoulders and shook him. His head fell onto his chest and that's all that happened.

My heart rate skyrocketed. Nobody would sleep through that. He wasn't just sleeping. _"Seto!"_ I shouted, shaking him again. "What's the matter with you? _Wake up!"_

He gasped and his head snapped off of his chest. Startled, I stepped back. "Are… are you okay…?" I whimpered.

His eyes were wide and he stared at me for a moment before knitting his eyebrows and simply asking, "What's wrong, Mokuba?"

"What's _wrong?"_ I demanded, very confused. "What's wrong with _you_? I've been trying to wake you up for a few minutes-"

He frowned. "Really?"

"Do… do you feel okay? Are you sick?" I asked shakily.

"No," he replied pleasantly enough. But I wasn't satisfied. I kept frowning at him and he frowned at me. We were there in a moment of silence before he sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to go away because I knew that something unusual was wrong with him. I knew that he rarely got sick and even when he did, he hid it… but I didn't like it when he did that. He did a lot of stuff that I didn't like and that was one of the biggest things.

"Well… it's a long story," he began. "But I'll tell you."

 _Good._ I sat in the armchair that was next to the one that he was in, wondering what it could be that required an explanation. Once I was sitting, he said, "You know that I have a spiritual link to Ancient Egypt."

I smiled. "Yeah, it's what saved my butt a few months ago…"

"Precisely," he said, returning the smile. "But, I don't remember much about my past… until I realized that my memories had been sealed into the Rod."

"Your memories?" I asked. "Really? You have memories?"

"Yes. I figured out how to tap into them; so, periodically, I have been seeing the events of the past. All I have to do is hold the Millennium Rod and just… think that I want to see them. It's astonishing."

"That's… really awesome," I said, thoroughly interested. Like, he had actually seen himself living in Ancient Egypt? "What sorts of things have you seen?"

"You have no idea," he said, with a chuckle. "Monster battles and court trials and all sorts of things. It's a very fascinating world; a spectacular history lesson."

"I bet," I said, on the edge of my chair.

"So. I have seen another incredible thing- that, in the past, monsters resided inside of some peoples' souls. That was the origin of basically every duel monster."

I swallowed hard. When did he start really believing this stuff? He used to shun it so much… I guess, if anything, he owed our lives to the links that he had and that Yugi had. Maybe it wasn't so strange in his eyes, now.

"I was just seeing another memory, just now- I was in a court battle where I got to see the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, for the first time…"

He went on and told the story of how he had saved the girl, Kisara, from the other two prisoners, and how he had used his monster to trickily slice the chains and get rid of one prisoner… my jaw dropped more with every word that he spoke.

"That's… that's _amazing_ ," I said, once he was finished describing everything. This was the coolest history lesson ever. I wished that I could actually see what he'd been seeing.

He chuckled. "I didn't know that it makes me go catatonic, either; I'm sorry to worry you."

"No big deal…" I began, forgetting what I had come here to tell him in the first place and not really caring to make myself remember. "How often do you look at your memories?"

"As often as I can," he mused. "I try to tap into them every time that I know I won't be doing anything for a while. I like to watch them."

I stood up out of my chair. "Okay," I said, happy again. "Thanks for telling me all of that!"

I left the room, leaving him alone. I was smirking. Had I seen his cheeks go a little bit pink when he mentioned that woman, Kisara…?

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

Mokuba clicked the door shut and I leaned back in my chair. Even now my heart was pounding. I'd hid it from Mokuba the best I could, but…

I wasn't done for now. I wanted to see more. I clutched the Millennium Rod tightly in my hand. Everything went black again; then, I felt that I was standing… I opened my eyes. I was running.

Something was racing through my mind as I raced through the halls: Akhenaden's words. "I do not want you to grow fond of the girl," he had said. I knew that he wanted to use Kisara's dragon for himself… knowing that retrieving it from her would kill her. Trying to spare me of any pain? Pathetic; heartbreaking. …Was Set growing fond of Kisara, anyway…?

Where was I running to? It was night time, and I had a pot in my hands. I stopped and looked down at it. Food was sizzling in the bottom; some kind of meat, some kind of bread on top. What was I doing with it?

I looked ahead at the hallway that I was in. I then realized something and couldn't help but give a smirk for the poor dumb Priest- this was the hallway that led to where Kisara was kept. Was this the Priest's idea of a _dinner date_? Did Set actually _like_ Kisara?

I laughed at myself and kept walking down the hallways. I reached Kisara's little room and opened the door. She was in here; something in the depths of my heart was happy and warm, but I almost had to stop from laughing aloud- Kisara had tried to clean up her little room. She had neatly stacked the… spare rocks… forming a little chair that I knew was to be for me. She was sitting patiently on her bed… it actually looked like she had also tried to either patch up her little rag dress or clean it… she had also swept under her bed the dirt that had been on the floor. …Poor little thing… bless her, she tries…

"Lord Set!" she chirped as I entered and set the pot onto the tiny, ratty table and took my hat off and set it on a shelf. It was kind of amazing that the guards would give her this room: our prison chambers were hideous. Why, with all of our wealth, would we not even try to give people like Kisara comfort…?

I reported, "I managed to get plenty. Do you like…"

I stopped. …I had no idea what kind of meat was in the bottom of the pot. Kisara was looking at me curiously. "What?" she asked after I stood in silence for a second.

 _Shit._ How do I explain that I don't know what kind of food that I brought her? I then thought of a way out: …humor... "Well… to be honest," I began, thinking quickly, "do not tell anyone this, but Isis's cooks are atrocious. I never know what they are feeding us."

Her eyes bulged. My heart sank a little bit. Of course the Priest was probably not a very funny man, and to hear him make a joke would be out-of-character… but then she laughed and said "I will not tell Isis."

I frowned. … _was_ the Priest a funny man? In all retrospect I considered myself funny, but I only ever made jokes about how much I hated certain people… maybe the Priest did the same…?

Kisara continued, "Lord Set, I do not mind what we eat. I have never been picky. I am just very happy that you're here!"

She was smiling… so _broadly_ at me… the warmth that I was feeling was magnificent. I smiled genuinely back at her and said, "I am happy to be here." Something inside of me meant every word.

I sat down on the little makeshift chair and Kisara pulled things out of the pot and set them on the table. We ate and chatted merrily; I couldn't believe how cheerful I felt. This was truly one of the most pleasant moments of Set's life- I could feel his bliss in my heart. Why? Would Set really like a woman like this?

But as the evening went on, I was amazed to learn that Kisara was… actually, fascinating to listen to. She had traveled all of her life, which made sense: it was captivating to listen to her talk about the kinds of people that she had met and the kinds of towns that she had visited. 

We finished the meat and bread in front of us and Kisara reached into the pot to get more. She pulled out a handsome-looking steak and set it in front of me; then, she reached back into the pot and pulled out something that made me have to suppress a gag: some animal's eyeball, grotesquely hanging on the end of a several-inch-long optic nerve.

Oh, _damn._ It smelled significantly more sickening than it looked, and that was truly saying something. I couldn't help but stare at it. Had it gotten into my pot by mistake? It was dripping _juice._

Then the most staggering, revolting, ghastly, _flooring_ thing happened: Kisara _ate_ it. I couldn't _believe_ it. There she was, gnawing on an… _eyeball,_ looking perfectly chipper. I could do nothing but gawk at her; I couldn't help but just picture it sordidly bursting its _jelly_ in her mouth as she chewed on it. " _Holy shit,"_ I muttered.

She swallowed and looked at me with wide, curious eyes and asked, "Shit? What is shit?"

"I… you enjoy eating that…?" I asked, fighting my overpowering urge to throw up.

She giggled. "I know some people do not like the texture of organs, like that; but, I never have minded it. I learned from a young age to never waste anything."

I gulped. Poor, _poor_ girl.

I quickly recovered from that repulsive experience. We finished eating, and… I didn't want to leave. She didn't appear to want me to leave, either; once we had pushed the table out of the way, she patted the spot next to her. I took that to mean that she wanted me to sit next to her. Smiling, I got up and joined her.

Across from us, on the other side of the room, was a little window- from it, I could see some other wings of the palace and the spectacular night sky. I asked, "What do you think about, when you're here, alone?"

"I am very used to being alone," she said, answering the question almost blithely, as though I had asked her what her favorite movie was. "Sometimes when I would travel go to other towns, I would watch the people just… doing their daily businesses. Hearing their conversations sometimes made me feel like maybe I was a part of them, too."

I frowned at her. I could tell that the only thing she wanted, ever, was someone who would love her. It… broke my heart. _Why…_

She smiled up at me and kind of scooted closer to where I was sitting. Was she even allowed to do this? Was she allowed to touch me at all? …I didn't mind that she was leaning up against me.

A force inside of me was controlling my motion, and I was giving full way to it. My hand was on the side of her face, and I was leaning down, and our lips met…

It was incredible. Her arms were around my neck and we were bound together as the seconds slowly ticked by… it was so enigmatically _right._ Our hearts were beating together as one; I could feel radiating warmth engulfing my every nerve…

We broke apart after a long time; I could feel that my face was spectacularly red. She said nothing; she only put her arms around my back and leaned her head against my chest. There was nowhere else in the world that I needed to be, right now. I could hear her gentle, quiet breaths; she was warm and soft in my arms.

I could feel it. He did. This was the moment that Set fell in love with her. It was a completely alien sensation, to me… and yet, I recognized unerringly what it was. This girl- this girl who had now fallen asleep, supported in my embrace- this frail girl who had never been given a chance- held my heart in her tender grip.

I suddenly came back to myself. What time was it? Would Akhenaden or any of the other priests be looking for me…? Did they know what I was doing? I let go of Kisara and gently set her down on her bed. She stayed asleep; I looked at her for a moment. She really _was_ beautiful… overcome by the Priest's affection, I knelt down and fondly kissed her forehead. Then I left the room.

But it was in that moment that I knew that I had experienced the last truly happy day with her. I slid the door shut and leaned on it for a second; the few inches of stone separated us… I knew that her death was imminent and immediately on the horizon. Set's idiot heart may not have known it, but I'd seen it. And, while still perceptive as to that this was all in my head, that it wasn't real… I now wanted more than anything to stop the future that I knew was going to come.


	9. Pion and Holly

_**Chapter Nine** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

What's a better thing to do in the deadest heat of summer than go to the beach? My friends and I did everything together, and today was party day. It was the bloodiest effing hottest day of the year, so far- like, the bloodiest and effingest of all the bloody effing hot days. Perfect!

I took a deep breath of salty sea air and threw my towel onto the sand. I took my shirt off. I liked my bathing suit- it was green and had big yellow Hawaiian-style flowers. I looked like one of those kick-ass surfer dudes.

Yugi was smearing sunscreen onto his shoulders. One thing that I had privately always wondered about Yugi was how the _hell_ he got his hair to stick up like that. Even at the beach he had (I guess?) gelled it and spiked it in the little starfish pattern.

"Yuge," I shouted over the sound of the crashing waves. He looked up at me, signaling that he'd heard me, so I continued, "What does your hair look like when it's not up like that?"

He laughed. "We've been friends for like three years and you're just now asking me that?"

"I've never seen it down! Even when you get wet it stays up!"

"That's what she said!" Tristan shouted from quite a few yards behind me, to which I loudly responded, "Shut up, you stupid shithead," and then turned back to Yugi and said, "So will you do me a favor? Just, someday, will you not gel it or whatever you do? I want to see what you look like with your hair just… natural."

Yugi shrugged. "'Kay," he said.

We were then interrupted by Téa coming over and asking Yugi for the sunscreen. It was made even more obvious while she was in a two-piece yellow bathing suit: Téa was definitely the most in-shape out of all of our friends. She was downright sexy. I knew Yugi'd always had a thing for her. They made a good-looking couple.

"Yugi? Hi everyone," Mokuba said, from behind us. I turned around and he was standing there, wearing purple Hawaiian-flower trunks. "Huh, funny that I'd run into you guys." He pulled his sunglasses off from his face. He had a volleyball in his hands.

"Hi, Mokuba," Téa said. "Are you here by yourself?"

"Nah. I came with my friends," he said, nodding over his shoulder at the group of 12-and-13-year-old kids who were standing around a volleyball court. They were starting to look impatient.

"Your brother didn't want to come with you?" Téa asked.

Mokuba laughed out loud. "Seto, come to the beach! That's a good one!"

 _Yeah,_ _Téa_ _, that was a pretty stupid question,_ I thought. "Can we play with you guys?" I asked excitedly.

Mokuba shrugged and said, "Yeah, that'd be cool- but, you have to be on my team."

"I want to play, too!" Téa said enthusiastically.

Mokuba chuckled. "Both of you have to be on my team, then."

I laughed. "But we're bigger than you guys- ain't that unfair?"

"Mm, perhaps, but I'm filthy rich and these guys are used to things being unfair."

He strolled off happily. Téa and I exchanged glances, and we both thought the same thing: that is _definitely_ Seto Kaiba's little brother.

We played a few games (with our team winning each time, of course), before Tristan came up to me and said, "Hey, Joey… Yugi and I are getting hungry. We didn't pack any food. Let's go hit a burger stand."

Mokuba heard him say this and said, instead, "We could go to a nicer restaurant if you want. I can buy lunch."

My eyebrows raised. "Like… really?"

"I get paid millions of dollars a year," he said casually, shrugging. "I don't mind buying you guys some nice spaghetti or something. Do you have a change of clothes?"

"Yeah!" I said, quite excited. These guys probably knew the best places in the world to eat.

Mokuba's limo picked us all up later after we'd changed in the beach's bathrooms. We drove to a good-looking Italian restaurant. I felt underdressed in flip-flops and jeans… Mokuba got us all a table, and soon, I was gorging myself on mountains of fantastic ravioli.

In the middle of the meal, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that a pre-teen, curly-haired girl had approached our table. She tapped Mokuba on the shoulder, and he turned around and became extremely blushed and nearly choked on whatever he had been eating. The girl giggled and said, "Hi, Mokuba!"

Mokuba coughed briefly before flashing her a spectacular smile and saying, "Hi! I didn't know you were in town! Come sit with me!"

The girl left and returned with a chair and situated it between Mokuba and Yugi. Because I had nothing better to do, I picked up bits and pieces of the conversation between Mokuba and his friend. Apparently the girl had been on vacation for a month and a half (damn rich people and their abilities to do whatever the hell they wanted) and hadn't talked to Mokuba in a while. Soon it became clear that the kids liked each other.

Mokuba launched into a story about how he'd actually learned how to fly an airplane in order to stop it from crashing into a mountain. At the peak of the story- the part where he described how he had to force the plane up by steering it at the last second- she threw her arms around him. I couldn't help but smirk. He was totally loving this- he had a smug little smile on his face as he continued, "But, the stupid butt hole who used the Orichalcos card to mess up the plane anyway ended up losing and we landed the plane."

"Orichalcos?" the girl asked, pulling away from him, looking scared.

"It stole people's souls," Mokuba said pointedly.

The girl whispered, "wow…"

"But my brother killed the crap out of the guy who tried to use it on us. He didn't stand a chance."

"That's…" the girl whimpered, "You're so _brave_!"

"It was nothing," Mokuba said. I was amazed. _What a little stud_!

The girl said, "You're a hero!"

Mokuba chuckled and said, "Yeah… thanks!"

Lunch ended with me fuller than I'd almost ever been in my life and little hot-shot Mokuba of course picking up the tab. The girl went home with him- as their limo pulled away from the restaurant, leaving the rest of us to call a taxi, I wondered…

"That's pretty incredible," I chuckled to Tristan. "If I was as rich as I was good-looking, I bet I'd have pretty girls all over me, too…"

"You _are_ as rich as you are good-looking," Tristan said.

But if anything, at least Tristan was also as rich as he was good-looking… at least, he was, now. The spectacular bloody nose that he left the restaurant with suited him nicely.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

I was walking. What had Set been doing? I stopped for a moment and looked around. It was night time; I was standing in the midst of the enormous pillars of the main hallway that led from the prisoners' rooms back to the castle. I assumed that I had been visiting Kisara? Then again, perhaps not; I looked down at myself and saw that I was wearing different robes; these were even more spectacular and ornate; red-and-tan, sweeping. I felt my hair tickling my shoulders; I wasn't wearing my usual crown; was, instead, wearing a single circular golden band around my head. I brushed it with my fingers.

It was late; I felt tired and like I wanted to go back to my bedroom. I continued down the hallway and managed to make my way back to the main foyer of the palace when I heard Karim call my name. I looked over my shoulder and saw him approaching me from the other side of the room. He, too, was dressed in what I assumed was Ancient Egyptian formal wear.

"Do you need something?" I asked.

He was now standing only feet in front of me. I complemented him, "Isis performed gracefully tonight. She is very beautiful." The words came from my mouth without me knowing particularly what I was talking about. And, yet; though I hadn't actually seen it, rooted in my mind was a memory of Isis performing an elaborate belly dance for the high court and Pharaoh; tonight, we had all gathered in the throne room to watch her.

"Thank you," Karim replied, but, not looking happy about it; in fact, he looked downright miserable, now. "I know perhaps I am overstepping my boundaries in mentioning this, but… I feel that I am obligated…"

I frowned. He continued, "Isis and I… Isis is my first and most beloved wife. At this point I am not interested in taking any other women as my wife."

"I am happy for you," I said, not knowing where this was going; in fact, I was somewhat uncomfortable hearing Rishid talk to me about Ishizu, like this. Weird.

"But, while our marriage is blissful and satisfying, both of us take seriously our duties as members of the Pharaoh's court. The Pharaoh is our guiding light; he is everything that we work for and everything that we seek to improve ourselves for."

I knitted my eyebrows. Yes, that was how all of the Priests felt, I was sure…Karim sighed, and muttered uncertainly, "And yet… Isis has predicted a troubling future for our kingdom. I want more than anything to believe in our powers. I want more than anything to believe in the Millennium Items and the gods… but…"

My eyebrows raised. He continued, "So… Isis performed her dance tonight in the hopes of increasing her fertility; even though we do not particularly desire the responsibility of a young family taking away from our responsibilities as Priests, Isis and I are going to create a child."

My stomach bubbled somewhat; why was he telling me this? I sharply asked, "Do what you must, but why is it necessary for you to report this to me?"

He continued, "Set, do you love the woman whom you found in the village? The woman with the white dragon?"

I didn't really know what to say; Set _did_ love her, but by now, only had for an extremely short amount of time. Waveringly I admitted, "…yes."

He sighed. "I am happy for you. The reason I speak to you in this way is that I believe… I believe in my whole heart that we are going to defeat Bakura. I believe that the Pharaoh will banish him to darkness. I believe that his Diabound will never walk the Earth again. Truly. But… what does it mean… what does it mean to defeat Bakura?"

"What does it mean?" I repeated, confused.

He dejectedly whimpered, "After what happened to Mahado… I… I believe that it is very possible that in the process of defeating Bakura… more of us may lose our lives. I … it breaks my heart to think of this. I mourn the possible loss of my own life. I mourn the possible loss of any of the other priests… so, I am creating a child with my wife in the hopes that I may carry on my blood…"

I… couldn't believe what he was telling me. Had Isis predicted the deaths of any of us? I knew the limitations of the Millennium Tauk: it could not predict the futures of any of us who held other Millennium Items, but could it see a future where the Millennium Items were taken from us…?

Karim then surprised me further when he fell to his knees in front of me. "I come to you, not only as a fellow Priest, but as a man- Set, as the highest of all of us- as the man most trusted by the Pharaoh, as the man whose soul bears incredible power rivaled only by the Great Pharaoh himself- will you marry the woman that you love? Will you carry on the line of your blood, so that if we are destroyed, someday, our kingdom will rise again, under the leadership of our children?"

My lips parted in horror and surprise. Karim was here, on the ground, positively _bowing_ to me, begging me to … _to marry Kisara and have a child with her_ _so that there will be more priests after we die…?_ I knew that it was usual for someone my age to get married, but…

Karim was looking desperately up at me. What do I _say_ to him? "I believe that it is foolish to count on our untimely deaths," I exclaimed, still captivated by alarm.

He shook his head and said, "No… no, I know. I do not _believe_ that any of us will perish, but… I also never imagined that Mahado… "

"Mahado's death was ill-timed and tragic, but-"

But Karim bawled, "Isis… Isis has seen that in the future… in the near future, the too-near future, there will be another Pharaoh; a new Pharaoh of Atem's bloodline…"

" _How dare you suggest that the Pharaoh will perish under Bakura!"_

Tears streaming from his eyes, he looked deeply into mine and said, "Set, you must understand the crisis that we are in…! You would be doing the best thing that you possibly could, for your country… Isis says that there will be another Pharaoh; one of Atem's bloodline… I only hope beyond hope that our great Pharaoh has chosen to take the girl, Mana, as his wife, and has chosen to create a child with her…"

I didn't know how to feel about this situation. I hated that it almost sounded like he was counting on more of the priests to perish; Mahado had died, but the rest of us…

Karim looked miserable and just about downright pathetic, weeping at my feet, like this. And, yet, his words seemed to plant a kind of seed of enlightenment in my mind…

He continued, "Set… in the tragic, godforsaken case that your blood spills on the land, will you now create a child with a woman whom you love, so that your blood may be sustained…? So that Egypt will reign gloriously under our offspring in the future as it does with us now?"

I exhaled audibly to steady myself and continued to frown down at Karim. Something inside of me didn't go as far as to agree with him; however… this was the first time that I had thought that maybe it _would_ be a good thing to do: to marry Kisara… I had never thought of it. …I wondered, now, what it would be like to marry her. Karim and I were in silence for a while as I mulled over the idea in my head; …what did Set actually do, in this situation? Did he want to marry Kisara?

I shortly said, "…I will…consider it."

Karim stood up and put his hands on my shoulders bracingly. "You are making a wise decision; I promise you. Realize what this means to me and what your continued bloodline will mean to this kingdom."

He kissed me on the forehead and walked out of the room, leaving me standing there, floored. My heart was pounding violently. Marry Kisara…?

I went back to my room and sat on my bed, after taking my robes off, leaving only the shawl tied at my waist, not feeling any calmer. I leaned my head in my hands. _Marry Kisara…?_

Every time that the thought "I don't want to marry Kisara," passed through my mind, I felt sick to my stomach. Something made me _want to marry Kisara_. But I couldn't bring myself to do that…! Her days were numbered… I knew that.

And, yet; there was something inside of me that made me so sincerely yearn to go tell Kisara that I wanted to make her my first wife; something that sought after pretending that maybe Kisara and I could be happy, together…

I ran my hand through my hair and sighed heavily. … _Marry Kisara…?_

I couldn't explain it to myself; but I knew what I- what Set- wanted to do. I wanted to go to Kisara, tomorrow morning as soon as I woke up, and tell her that I wanted to marry her. My heart had won the battle over my mind. I was going to do it; I was going to marry Kisara.

I slept fitfully; my relentlessly racing mind forbade me from relaxing. How do I _propose to a woman_? How did the Ancient Egyptians do it? … _did_ they, even? Were marriages arranged for people who were of a lower social status as well as higher status? I was in a good position; I was told that my parents were dead, so I was on my own to find a wife… Kisara didn't have parents, either, so… no middle-managing…

Finally, the sun rose; and though I hadn't slept much, I felt perfectly energized. I had chosen to give Kisara a necklace that I had been told was inherited from my mother- it was made of strips of pure gold that were about three inches long, each- melted into the top and bottom of each strip were giant, sparkling blue stones; unaware of what they were, I'd pored over some of the books in Set's room and concluded that they were the semi-precious stone called Lapis Lazuli. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry that I felt a kind of special connection to. Akhenaden had told Set that his mother was poor, but that this one special thing was her prized possession. It seemed appropriate for the occasion.

Holding the necklace gently, I looked outside of my window; the sun was rising spectacularly over the Nile, under my window; making golden a glowing sky and sparkling stream. It was a beautiful day; I couldn't help but feel in fair spirits. I went to Kisara's little room and opened the door.

"Lord Set, I did not know that you wished to visit me today," Kisara sang. She was awake and was carving pictures of lotuses on the walls. "Do you need something?"

"Yes," I said, holding the necklace behind my back.

She tilted her head, suddenly noticing that I was concealing something. "What do you have?"

"Will you come with me? I want to talk to you about something important," I asked, secretly hiding the necklace under the band of gold that was around my waist. 

"Okay," she said cheerily, following me out of her room; I led her away from the palace and to the banks of the Nile; to a place where lotuses grew wild and huge; it was cooler and quiet, here.

I stopped walking and Kisara stopped behind me. "This place is beautiful!" she chirped. "I have never been here- look at the flowers!"

The breeze was light; I took my hat off and could feel my hair gently grazing my face as it was lifted around by the wind. Kisara was facing away from me, now; picking flowers out of the water blithely. I set my hat on the ground in the sand.

I frowned. I wasn't nervous, but still I battled in my head over and over if this was _really_ the right thing to do… how much longer before she died…? …But still, something inside of me wanted to pretend; to cling to something that I knew wasn't real. She was going to die and Set would never marry her. Why did I let this feeling overwhelm me, like this?

Well, here goes nothing. I knew that, generally, in Ancient Egypt, marriages were arranged and the groom approached the mother of the bride to discuss weddings; but Kisara and I had no parents, so… well…

"Kisara," I said. She stood up and turned around to face me. She was standing a few feet in front of me and was grinning at me, and clearly had no idea what was about to hit her; I felt very calm despite my pounding heart… I slowly brought myself down onto one knee, held up the necklace, and said, "I want to make you my wife."

Her face went stark pale. "I am in love with you. It would honor me greatly if you would marry me," I continued.

She stood, trembling, in front of me for just a moment; I continued to hold up the necklace and smile peacefully at her. Then, she fell to her knees in front of me and threw her arms around me and wept into my shoulder.

I chuckled; she stuffily whimpered, "Lord Set… I can't believe… you, you the _Pharaoh's High Priest_ … me _… yes, Set!_ I love you… _I love you_ …"

We broke apart; she was wiping her eyes and beaming at me; I could feel the Priest's bliss mixed with the aching sadness of my own heart; knowing that this happy moment was so temporary… her hand was tenderly on my face, and she gently kissed me…

When she pulled away from me again, I said, "I brought this to give to you…" I lifted the necklace out of the sand where I had dropped it when she hugged me and fastened it around her neck; it lied beautifully across her collarbone.

She was clearly in awe; she whimpered, "You brought this for me? …Lord Set, it's the most…" she lightly brushed her fingers along the gleaming gold, "… the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen…"

She looked deeply into my eyes. "I am so proud to be at your side," she said, tears still softly falling down her face. "A girl like me, to be loved by the Pharaoh's High Priest, himself…" she put her hand back onto my cheek. "I love you, Lord Set. I will love you for every moment of eternity; I will be forever grateful for how you are such an incredible positive force, in my life… I will forever serve you; I will forever fight by your side…"

And it was then that I knew nobody had ever spoken such a truth, to me. The Priest didn't know it, yet, but I did; that everything that she said, she would hold to.


	10. Wilted

_**Chapter Ten** _

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

" _Stop her, Set!"_ a voice shrieked from behind me-

I turned around quickly to see that Akhenaden was standing not ten feet from me, now. Shit _. Shit._ Set was desperate and frustrated and perturbed. What had he just been told? There was so much noise, so much chaos-

 _"Leave her alone! I will fight you!"_ I yelled, holding the Millennium Rod, forward at him. I needed more time! I didn't know how to act! What had he said, that was making my heart race riotously, and had led me to shout this threat? I had to fight him. Why did I have to fight him? Why was the palace crumbling around me? I had to stop him… he looked so dark and had that hideous mask on and why was he wearing a hideous mask?

His hands clasped both of my forearms and he implored, "My brother and his prodigies will be powerless, to us! Of old blood, there will be a new line of royal heritage! _Take her dragon, my child, my son! You know what it could do for you!"_

My brother, royal? … _My child, my son?_ " _Why do you say that! Why do you call me that_?" I demanded, unable to tear my petrified stare from his face- he looked so _grotesque_ \- he was gripping my arms too tightly- 

_"_ _I lied to you, Set! I developed your powers and made you a warrior but all of this time I have trained you as my son, the child of my blood, of my seed, of my beloved only wife- but I have prepared you for this moment! The moment where we overcome my prostrate nephew and take the throne! Kill the girl! Kill the girl, now!"_

No, no, no, _no,_ this was too much, this was too much- _my father_? _Akhenaden was Set's father…? Atem's uncle…?_ It wasn't _possible_! I was a _prince?_ He was asking me to _kill Kisara_! Set wasn't the one who killed Kisara- they were going to be married, that was not what happened, this was untrue, none of this was true-

I ripped my arms from his grip. _"No! I refuse to listen!"_

He stumbled back but then shouted, "Very well- I shall _make_ you accept my gift! A god is born!"

I looked over my shoulder and felt the ground swirl under my feet when I saw that Kisara wasn't running away… she was running _towards_ me; and I immediately recognized that she couldn't bring herself to leave me- I looked back forward again, and in a flash quicker than I could ever hope to move- quicker than the air could leave my throat that carried the message to Kisara to beg her to run away, Akhenaden lifted his hands, and from them burst a bolt of sickeningly crackling lightning that rushed forward, blazing past me, and-

 _…hit Kisara squarely in the chest_ … Time slowed down considerably as I watched her limply fall…

I whipped around. Akhenaden was gone. Vanished. That bastard… _that filthy, rat, bastard…_

" _No! No, Kisara!"_ I begged, rushing towards her crumpled figure… the castle was completely deteriorated around me… a stone slab jutted suddenly from the ground, and I watched in horror for just a second as a picture of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon slowly faded into appearance…

I threw myself to my knees, right next to where her body was. With trembling hands I picked her up off of the ground. …she was not breathing. She was heavy and indolent in my grasp and her head leaned languidly over my arm. …No. No, no, _no._

The world could have been at a standstill. The noise had stopped and nothing was happening in the entirety of existence. There was a cavernous hole in my heart… I hadn't been able to save her… I hadn't been able to stop Akhenaden…

…I couldn't believe it. I could only stare at her face… was it _really_ possible that she was never going to smile at me, again? Never going to smile, or kiss me, or eat an eyeball in front of me…

Incredible, overwhelming anguish- that demon that had stalked me in the quiet sands- leapt on me at that moment; in an instant, tears flowed from my eyes and I dissolved into miserable, wretched wailing.

Years could have gone by. I finally opened my eyes; my vision was blurry with burning tears. To compare this pain that engrossed me now to that which might accompany a white-hot blade through the heart would be an underestimating fallacy. I looked up; the Blue-Eyes White Dragon picture in the stone slab looked powerful and strong, but…

Even in death, she still looked so _beautiful_ … her eyes were gently closed and head lying against my arm. Her face was wet with my tears, hair falling gently over it. So many people had seen her only for the dragon… but I… but the Priest… had known that there was so much more to her; that she was more than just a powerhouse, or a container for a monster. She was a wonderful person, full of light… the last shred of true happiness that the Priest had clung to after losing so much…

Tears streamed endlessly from my eyes with power that brought shame to even the Nile. I didn't want just this girl's dragon. I had wanted _her…_ I gripped her tighter. I was alone… facing the kind of seclusion that would leave even _me_ feeling hopeless, cold and desolate.

Vaguely I could feel my long, heavy cape being moved around by the light wind. Vaguely I felt the weight of the solid gold bands on my arm and ankh fastened to my chest. _Vaguely._ I was mostly aware only of the incredible, unbelievable sadness that gripped me. The world was silent and empty; I had been in love with the girl in my arms.

I felt the weight in my arms disappear slowly. The world was swirling as I kept my eyes tightly closed, tears pouring from them… I then felt the ground re-appear under me. I was lying on my side in my bed, sobbing miserably into the pillow that I had my arms tightly wrapped around… the Millennium Rod was on the bed, brushing against my clenched hand.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes and turned over onto my back. It was so _real._ My eyes stung from the tears, but that discomfort was meek; _placid_ compared to the terrible, terrible agony that was still lingering inside of my usually-cold heart. This was _pain!_ It left me breathless; I lied here in the dark, willing it to lessen, willing it to have mercy on me…

I finally found the strength to stand up off of the bed. I wiped my pouring eyes; then, my knees were weak as I exited my room, finding favor in the balcony that was just beyond my room's sliding glass doors. I slumped into a chair near the railing of the balcony, aching head in my hands.

I was so _unused_ to this… but, the fact that I was crying wasn't so weird to me as was the reason _why_ I was crying. Maybe I had loved her, thousands of years ago, so it's only right that I see visions of the priest, mourning, in the past… but therein lies my confusion; I am not the priest _now!_ The priest lived thousands of years ago; he died thousands of years ago. He had a different culture and a different belief system. He probably loved women for different reasons. He was a different age and had a different fighting method. _I am not him_. So, why … why was I feeling his emotion, _now_ … his hurt; his irreversible, infinite loss…

I then felt a hand on my shoulder. I lifted my head off of my hands and looked up at Mokuba, who was standing in front of me, looking forlornly and concernedly at me- for one of the few moments in my life, I was _glad_ that someone was here…

"What's the matter," he asked sympathetically, removing his hand from my shoulder. I wiped my eyes and turned my head away from him a little bit and muttered, "I just… I saw another memory."

Mokuba sighed; he gently asked, "What happened?"

I looked up at him again. He was gazing down at me with sad eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly.

I shook my head. Then, I tremulously reached forward and put my arms around him. Head on his chest, I closed my eyes, tears still gently streaming from them. I didn't say anything, now. I just tightened my grip around my brother, suffering so far back then; suffering now.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

It was almost midnight, now. We were on Seto's balcony and I was holding him, comforting him. He felt …very cold.

It was an odd feeling. This was one of the extremely few times in my life that he had cried in front of me. I had offered to let him talk about what he had seen… he was silent, now, though.

After a long time, I felt his arms pull away from me; he stood up and re-entered his room and sat on the bed and leaned back onto his pillows, sitting at a 45-or-so-degree angle. I followed him and sat down next to him.

It was dark in the room, but I could see, from the light from the moon in the window, that his face was still tear-streaked. Finally, he whispered, "the priest who holds the Millennium Eye… Akhenaden… he killed her…"

I frowned. _Kisara_. Had he watched it happen? Now I felt even worse.

"It… it feels completely _real_ ," he continued miserably, putting his hands over his eyes. "I feel like it just happened a moment ago… like, I was actually _there_ just a moment ago…"

What could I _do?_ He was clearly in _pain_ … it was obvious that his arms' muscles were tense as he gripped at his head. He sighed sadly again after a moment. His voice was becoming steadier. "Thanks for being here," he said quietly, putting his arms back at his sides. "I'm sorry that you have to see me like this."

"Seto, you're my brother. Of course I'm here…"

He smiled mildly up at me, and I put my arms around his shoulders and pulled him into my lap. His head lied heavily and limply on my collarbone; he was warm again. It must have been a funny scene; he was so much bigger and heavier than I was… but, that's what I was here for.

He muttered, "I don't know if I really believe in set-in-cement destiny… but, I feel like I couldn't help her. I tried… I tried to fight Akhenaden, but… I couldn't save her. It's the damnest thing… I can't explain why I so desperately wanted it to be different…"

"Did he hurt you, too?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "He was my _father._ He wanted me to live. He wanted me to take over the kingdom, using Kisara's dragon as my pawn." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't think I've ever hated anyone so much, Mokuba."

"Even more than you hate Pegasus?" I asked lightly, trying to inject an ounce of happiness back into him.

I was glad when he chuckled just slightly. "Yes, more than Pegasus, even." He sighed again after a moment. He wasn't crying anymore.

"I'm sorry that it had to be like that, big brother," I said gently.

Eyes closed and content in my arms, he nodded. "I'm okay," he muttered sleepily.

A few moments of silence went by. Soon, his breaths became deep and even. He had fallen asleep. I slowly slid out from under him and stood up, off of the bed. He was now on his stomach, sleeping peacefully. I stood there, for a moment, watching him and thinking deeply.

Every day, and with every memory he saw, he was becoming more and more like the great ancient priest that his soul had once been. I was amazed at the transformation. On the outside, he was the same cold businessman, but when he was away from the public, I could tell that he was absolutely learning the meaning of love and how being alone is not the best way to live… look at how much he needed me there for him, just now. From the looks of it, the priest had once, also, been cold and cared about his power… but, he also knew what it was like to be a part of a team, and to fight and use his incredible power for the sake of others.


	11. Len and Magnolia

**_Chapter 11_ **

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

"Set," came a croaky voice from behind me.

It was incredible; I was slammed with emotion; terrible pain, terrible sorrow. It was Akhenaden who had spoken; he had returned. It was time I faced him.

I gently set Kisara's body down and stood up and turned to face him. I was somewhat surprised at what I saw. He looked even more horrible than usual- he was nearly doubled over, wheezing and gasping, and he was shaking. I felt just a spark of happiness- it appeared that the Pharaoh had defeated Zorc. _Good_.

 _"Set,"_ he said, again. _"My son… my boy…"_

I frowned deeply. I gave him no sign that I felt anything but absolute odium for him. The abhorrence burned at my heart and burned at my throat- it was crippling as much as it was enlivening-

He looked like he had gone mad. _"It c-cannot b-be…"_ he stammered, almost as though drunk, _"the g-g-g-great evil god… Z-Z-Zorc Necro…ph…phades… defeated…by the Pharaoh's god… Horakhty…"_

He bent over, wheezing, more. Was he even talking directly to me? " _Now…_ the only thing that can defeat the Pharaoh's gods… _is my son, Set_!"

I cringed. " _Set!_ "he barked, again. " _You are destined to be king! You must kill the Pharaoh and steep the world in shadows!"_

I began to approach him. "Everything is in ruins," I growled. "Egypt is doomed. What does it matter if you defeat the Pharaoh? Who cares about power, anymore?"

" _My son!"_ he shouted again, removing the mask he wore on his face. Even my heart, so gripped with detestation and vehemence, couldn't help but halt at the sight of his face. I took a step back, in revulsion: his face looked like the flesh had peeled from the bone by fire; the eye that wasn't replaced with the Millennium Eye had rolled back into his head, and the visible, bare veins in his skin bulged. " _With your power, I can erase the stain of failure in our blood!"_

He approached me; we were standing only mere feet apart. "Set… your flesh and blood are a part of me… Son… I love you... from the bottom of my heart..."

The words stunned and sickened me. His voice shook with the word 'love,' but the word was as putrefied as his soul was; the most corroded sense of the emotion that had ever crossed any father's lips.

He took several steps backwards. "As my last gift, I give you my soul." He inhaled deeply and shakily; _"I call to the blood in your veins! Flow with my love and boil with my hatred of the Pharaoh!"_ he declared, and in the next instant, he threw himself into the great crevasse that had been torn in the ground; even I couldn't bring myself to not exclaim in surprise and rush forward-

-with the hot intensity of a lightning bolt, my skull was split open, and the force that made my legs stop right there was not mine- a suffocating cloud cork in my throat, so that no breath escaped my chest-

...darkness. I could hear my own voice shouting, laughing, but it was miles away- if my eyes were open, it made no difference; this was the kind of blackness that no light could warm-

...there was a hand around my neck, holding me up; a rough, scabbed hand that smelled of death, clutching me tightly- the voice, Akhenaden's, shouting, and my own voice rang in sync...

I could feel nothing but the crawling flesh that gripped my own skin. I blinked in the infinite blackness; even now, could barely see the decaying man next to me-

Light could not pierce this place, but one thing could: a voice not mine or Akhenaden's: " _Take my light! Kill me, if you have to, but, take it!"_

 _He can't die,_ I thought urgently, lifting my eyes to look at where Akhenaden was holding the Millennium Rod, here, to command my dragon to attack Atem- _He can't die-_

…but now, the hand that gripped me was delicate- through eyes that discerned no light or hope, I could see the incredible warmth that surrounded us. _"Kisara,"_ I whispered...

"You must not be taken by the shadows," she told me soothingly.

Far, far away, I could hear Akhenaden's shrieks of horror and perhaps pain; but, I was so distant from that- I was in a completely different world; one that hung right next to the empty one, but one of a wholly contrary deportment. I was floating, free of the shackles that Akhenaden had put on my heart- floating, suspended by the soft wind that was the hand of the woman whom I loved-

And in an instant, air rushed into my throat and I coughed violently; I could feet the hot beat of the sun on my back and the sting of the wound on my arm. I was kneeling on the crumbled stone ground, staring at my clenched, trembling hands...

Ahkenaden had brought us here. Akhenaden had completely separated my soul from my heart and had taken control of my power... Akhenaden had shredded from me the last bit of life that I actually clung to, and had thrown me desperately into the void...

And, Kisara had saved me. Every passing tangible pound of my heart confirmed that Kisara had held the darkness at bay; had destroyed the evil that Akhenaden had become...

_"Set! Can you stand?"_

Atem was running towards me. Quickly my vision corrected itself and I could see him; he extended his hand to me, and I took it and slowly stood.

I gulped and looked around. Everything was barren. Bare remnants of buildings were left standing. Atem and I were standing in nothingness.

"The battle has left deep wounds in the earth," Atem said solemnly. I looked out across the landscape. Now I realized something important: there was a sort of bleakness to the view, now; but, the darkness was certainly gone…

I sighed and then turned to Atem. He looked up at me. "I did not know that we were family," he lightheartedly said.

"Neither did I. I suppose that it is interesting now to look at you as my cousin."

He didn't respond to that; he looked down at the Millennium Puzzle and then back up at me. "Set," he then mumbled. "I must do something, and I do not want for you to stop me."

I narrowed my eyes. "What…" I began. He held up the Millennium Puzzle and proclaimed, "Zorc will return. There will come a day that I am strong enough to destroy him. But, for now… I must seal him, and myself, away."

"Seal away?" I asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

He took the Millennium Puzzle away from around his neck. "I must leave you, Set," he announced, somewhat sadly. Huh…? Then, he held up the Puzzle. "I want you to do something for me."

I frowned. What was he going to do? Have me train him…? "I am your faithful Priest," I told him, "I will help you how I can."

Atem smiled. "Listen to me carefully, then, Set. I want you to inherit my throne."

My heart leapt into my throat. _What?_ " _Pharaoh!_ " I gasped. "You cannot _mean_ that…"

"I do mean that, my cousin," Atem said, holding the Millennium Puzzle out to me.

Astonished, I took a step backwards and shouted, "Then… then you must duel me! I must prove my strength!"

"I have no time for that, Set," Atem said quietly. "Take the Millennium Puzzle as proof of your right to the throne! Reign over Egypt, and return it to the glorious civilization that it once was!"

The Millennium Puzzle shone brightly; then, Atem began to disappear. I took the Puzzle from his hands. He smiled at me; he whispered, "Someday, I ask that you break the puzzle apart… that will be when we will start to wait for the day that we can defeat Zorc..."

"Atem…" I whispered, unable to _fathom_ what was happening. …then, he was gone.

I stood, alone, on the sandy desert. The world was wholly hushed as I held the Millennium Puzzle in my hands for the first time. I could feel my heart racing wildly… these were its first beats as the leader of a great nation; a great kingdom.

I swallowed hard. This was… _completely incredible_. I had not only been a priest or a prince… I had been a _Pharaoh_ … a ruler, leader… the most powerful person on Earth.

The scene dissolved. I was back in my room, sitting in my big armchair. I took a deep breath and shakily set the Millennium Rod down. …it hadn't been the only Millennium Item that I had ever held.

I stood up out of my chair, feeling like an entirely different person… I went over to the wall where my full-length mirror was hung. My reflection peered back at me; the blue eyes that I was looking into were the eyes of a _king_.

Fantastic.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

Seto was looking particularly self-satisfied at dinner this evening. Wondering what he might have accomplished now, I asked, "What have you been up to, big brother?" while pouring myself a glass of soda.

He set his handheld computer down. "I've been seeing more of my old memories," he said. "I think I've seen most of them; the most recent one…"

He kind of paused thoughtfully. Did he not know how to explain it? I sat a bit impatiently until he said, "I wasn't just the Pharaoh's High Priest. I was a Pharaoh, myself."

My eyes widened. "Like, seriously?" I gasped, astonished.

He smugly smiled and nodded and went back to reading his newspaper. I smiled, too. "That's really awesome, Seto! You took over after Atem?"

"Yes. I inherited his throne. I told you that Akhenaden was my father; did I tell you that he was Atem's _uncle_ , too? Did I tell you that Atem was my cousin?"

" _Atem?"_ I asked, floored. "Like, _Yugi_. Yugi was your _cousin._ "

"He was, yes," he chuckled.

Together we laughed heartily. And it was then that I realized: _my wish…!_ In the deepest recesses of my heart, all I ever wanted was to see my brother happy… to see him smile, the way he used to. I felt like I was _glowing_ , right now- _look_ at him, laughing, with me! He was genuinely happy… the Millennium Items may have brought us a lot of hard times over the years, fighting enemies like Dartz and Pegasus… but… well, for moments like this, it was almost worth it.


	12. Gardenia

**_Chapter 12_ **

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

It was dim and quiet in my study; the only light coming from the single lamp on the desk and the only sound coming from the clicking of the keyboard as I typed. Finally I finished writing the last e-mail to my treasurer; I clicked "send" and turned off the desktop computer's monitor. I glanced at the clock; it was almost one o'clock in the morning. I frowned; it wasn't a terrible hour to get to bed.

I adjusted my shirt and got up out of the desk chair and pushed it in under the desk. I yawned; it had been a long day. I picked up the Millennium Rod off of my desk and clicked off the lamp; the room was flooded with darkness. I squinted to get my eyes used to the blackness and made my way to the door.

My hand was on the doorknob when I heard what sounded like a rush of a quiet breeze; then, there was a sort of bright blue light from behind me; so that I could see my own shadow against the door.

I looked over my shoulder to see what was behind me; my lips parted with surprise when I saw that _something was materializing on the other side of the room._ I shook my head quickly; when the illusion did not fade before my eyes, the hair on the back of my neck stood up-

The light's shape became clear. I gasped aloud in astonishment and backed, horrified, into the wall… _dare_ I believe what I was seeing? Standing, now, on the other side of the room, was…

"… _Kisara…?"_ I whispered.

Undoubtedly, the figure only mere feet from me was her. She looked exactly as she did when the Millennium Rod showed me memories of her. My heart was pounding violently; I was frightened. Was she a ghost…; God forbid, a demon…? What was she doing, here? She had a sort of glow around her, which only enhanced the intense beauty of her long, white hair, and crystal eyes...

I was surprised with myself for thinking like that despite my trepidation. What was it, about her? She was, essentially, a _stranger!_ I had never even really _me_ t her; never really, actually _talked_ to her… I had seen memories of her, but when it came down to it, _I_ was a different person than the man whom she once knew… and yet… even though I was afraid to see her like this… she _fascinated_ me. Even now I could sense her incredible power and depth, far surpassing not only her social status, but also her years. I felt myself relax just slightly-

She approached me; my fear immediately returned. Hand defensively on the Millennium Rod, I fumbled for the doorknob behind me- but, then she murmured, "…Seto…"

My hands were shaking. That was her voice; I remembered it… she called me 'Seto,' not 'Set'…

She was beaming at me; she kept walking slowly towards me. It looked as though she was sauntering through water- her hair paid no mind to gravity, choosing instead to float. I could feel warmth _radiating_ from her. I could do nothing but stare at her in alarm. She stopped when she was merely feet away from me.

"How… how is this _real_?" I asked her; breathless; scared.

I was swarmed with these negative emotions; but she, in turn, had almost never looked happier- tears nipped at her wide eyes, and she whimpered, "The power of the Millennium Rod allows me to appear to you, like this. You have accepted the Millennium Rod as yours; now, I can appear, from it."

I was still pressed against the wall protectively- she was looking at me, now, in the same loving, adoring way that she had looked at me in my memories. … what should I _say?_ Thousands of years ago I had been in _love_ with this woman… but, I wasn't in love with her _now_ … _I didn't know her…!_ I was a different person with a different name… we stood in silence as my heart rate slowly went down; after a long time, I stumbled over my words, "You're here… I don't know…"

She just smiled. "Seto… for so long, I have waited…"

She wasn't a _ghost_ , I realized, now; the only thing unusual about her being that she had a kind of faint glow around her… I didn't feel like I was in danger, but… she embodied the greatest power that I had ever known, so…

Finally, I stammered, "There is so much that I want to ask you." Then, my eyes darted to something that was gleaming on her collarbone: _the lapis lazuli necklace that I had given her_ …

"You're wearing that…" I whispered.

"It is my most prized possession!" she chirped.

Another moment of silence. I flicked the light switch on. "Sit down."

She looked at the desk chair that was behind her. "Here?" she asked cheerily. I nodded curtly and she sat down.

I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms. She just beamed up at me.

"What do you want me to say, to you?" I asked her.

She lowered her glance thoughtfully; then, looked right back into my eyes merrily and eagerly asked, "Will you show me how to use this?"

My eyebrows raised. She continued, pointing at the printer, "I have never seen this before."

"That's the printer," I muttered.

"Printer," she repeated, quite engrossed. She stood up from the chair and walked away from me, towards the table that the printer was sitting on. I swallowed hard. She was interested in the _printer…?_

The printer automatically shut off, at that moment; in response to the sound of shifting gears, Kisara let out a high shriek and pointed her index finger at the printer and instantly it exploded; I shielded my eyes and recovered quickly to see that Kisara was standing next to a smoldering pile of burnt plastic, hand clamped over her mouth. "I am sorry!" she gasped. "It startled me!"

Had I blinked, I would have missed the bolt of her power; I stood, open-mouthed in awe; she was looking miserable and apologetic. She whimpered, "I did not mean to break your machine…"

I rubbed my temples for a moment, but then said, "I … wouldn't have trained any of my employees to work the equipment that way."

She grinned; she sensed the tinge of humor in my voice. Her power was unbelievable, but it didn't threaten me; I said, "I'll buy a new one. Now, I'm going to bed. I want to talk to you later."

I closed the door on her quickly and entered my room and closed my door, too. …This was the strangest sensation that I had ever felt. Something deep inside of me was _rapturous_ \- I couldn't describe it; I couldn't elucidate it. I knew nothing about Kisara. She was… essentially, a historical figure; someone that someone connected to me had known, but…

I sighed blithely. I didn't worry that she was here and could likely break everything in the entire house. I was going to bed with a smile- an unexplainable, alien expression; albeit, a smile- on my face.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

I yawned and adjusted the locket around my neck as I stumbled down the stairs, to breakfast. I felt groggy today.

I sat down at the dining table and unpeeled a banana. I leaned my chin on my hand as I lazily chewed on the banana, reading over some notes out of my textbook. I had a quiz this morning.

I grabbed for a glass of juice, but one wasn't there- I sighed and rubbed my eyes and entered the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and reached for the carton of orange juice.

"Hello!"

…a woman's voice. I rubbed my forehead and looked around. "Huh?" I asked.

"Are you looking for food?"

…there was a woman in here somewhere. "…who is talking…?" I asked hesitantly. This voice didn't sound like it belonged to any of our maids. Did Seto hire a new maid…?

"Hello!"

I looked up. A woman was _sitting on top of the refrigerator_ , waving at me. I shrieked loudly and dropped the orange juice carton, which burst open and sent orange juice all over the floor- but- _there was a woman sitting on top of the refrigerator_! She was just _sitting_ up there, beaming down at me, looking tremendously friendly- and- _sitting on top of the refrigerator._

" _Who are you…?"_ I demanded, angry that orange juice now soaked my socks, and that I… well, wasn't going to get to drink any orange juice now, anyway!

Seto burst into the kitchen a moment later. "Did you scream? Is something wrong?" he asked hurriedly. Then, he followed my angry stare upwards and saw the woman on the refrigerator. "Hi, Seto," she greeted him happily.

"Kisara, please don't sit up there," Seto sighed.

"But, I have never seen a machine this tall," she said, eyes wide with amazement.

"Kisara, come _down,"_ Seto said again.

My jaw was dropped. "Seto, who _is_ she…!"

The girl … _floated_ down from the top of the refrigerator and stood next to Seto. He scratched his head and told her, "Kisara, go… go visit the flower garden, or something."

"Okay," she agreed blithely, and …vanished into thin air.

" _Seto,_ " I whimpered.

He ran his hand through his hair. "That girl… you know that I've been seeing the Priest's memories," he began.

"Yup," I said, peeling my gross socks off. "Have you seen them all?"

"Most of them, I think. But I've accomplished something even more incredible… that's Kisara."

"Wait-" I gasped, suddenly realizing. "Wait, you mean, _Kisara,_ Kisara?"

"Now that I have the Millennium Rod, I can use its power to actually… see her, _here,_ now. I've accepted that the Millennium Rod is mine… apparently, that means that she can materialize here."

I knitted my eyebrows. Reading the confusion on my face, he attempted to explain, "She is always with me… think about how many times that the Blue-Eyes White Dragon has saved my ass. Her soul resides in my cards. I'm able to materialize her, here, in her human form, with the Millennium Rod."

I stared up at him. The most surprising thing about this entire conversation was that last sentence, there- his voice was _light._

"It… that's really cool, I guess, Seto… what can she do here?" I gasped, staring up at him-

"I'm not sure if she wants something," he replied.

"Are… are you happy to have her here…?"

His eyes widened somewhat, and he said, "I don't know. She's a nightmare- she destroyed one of the printers last night, and obviously has no idea how to interact in normal society. She appears intelligent, but, that's not saying much…"

"Um…" I began, mouth cracking a smile, "I think you look kind of happy…"

He paused thoughtfully and ashamedly. "I'm not sure. Let's just put up with her for now and we can decide what to do, later."

He exited the kitchen and I forgot for a brief moment that I was still standing in a puddle. What a sight, to see his cheeks go red, like that!


	13. An Unexplainable Allergy

_**Chapter Thirteen** _

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

The sound of water, and some sort of crackling… I blinked. The blackness of the sky was only made light in contrast to the blackness of the tree branches that hung over my head.

…tree branches. Why was I looking at _tree branches…?_ A gentle breeze danced around my face, and the smell of some sweet flower was on the air…

I blinked hard. I wasn't dreaming. I slowly pushed myself sitting. "Where…?"

"Hello, Seto," Kisara greeted me, peacefully, from not too far away.

"Kisara?" I asked. "Kisara, where are-"

I looked down and realized, with a rush of horror, that I was sitting on a tree branch- an enormous, thick branch about five feet in diameter; I could see, from the fire on the ground, that I was easily a hundred feet in the air-

I let out a yell of surprise and fear and dug my nails into the side of the branch- I snarled, " _Kisara! What are we doing here? How dare you bring me into a tree-"_

"Seto," she requested quietly, fixing huge eyes on me, "Please do not make noise! I cannot hear the people, if you make noise!"

"Don't make noise? _I'm hanging a hundred feet off of the ground, Kisara_!"

"Seto, I will not let you get hurt. Look, there; the people are celebrating!"

I gulped and looked at the fire below us. Drums and whistles were being played; tribal people were dancing, holding hands in circles, around a huge fire. "Where are we…?" I asked hesitantly.

"Madagascar," was the excited rejoinder. She was sitting with her legs over the side of the large branch, kicking her feet back and forth in energy. "I have never been here, before!"

My eyes bulged. Kisara happily said, "Through existing for thousands of years, I have learned many things, but I still like to see watch them happen. I have never attended a wedding, before!"

"Wedding…?" I gasped. "Kisara, I'm rich! If you want me to take you out, I'll take you somewhere during the day near home-"

She frowned at me. "I have never had money! We do not need that in order to have a nice time."

"We don't need to be _here_! _Take me home, Kisara_!" I shouted furiously, scared to move if I might fall out of this stupid tree- Kisara was ignoring me, watching the ceremony below our feet and giggling and giggling. " _Kisara!"_

"Seto, please enjoy the ceremony," she tittered, eyes huge and sparkling. "You cannot judge people on their worth by how much money they have! Their ceremony is as special as anyone else's in the world!"

"Kisara, what time is it, back home? I have to go to school, soon-" I demanded, dangerously close to considering begging-

"Ohh," she sighed. "I forgot about that. Okay."

She leapt from her tree branch and floated over to me, and put her hands under my arms and effortlessly picked me up. "Please don't drop me," I growled.

She stared at me with huge eyes again, looked at the sky, then looked at the ground. "What do you do, do you just, like, teleport, or something…" I began, but was cut off by that she zoomed towards the ground and then we both stood on the dirt, right next to all of the people.

"They cannot see us," she told me before I could shriek the question inquiring about that. "Will you do one thing for me?"

"Kisara, I mean it, _I want to go home_ , take me away from here-"

"Will you dance with me, with them?"

Even I couldn't continue complaining. _What…?_ She was staring at me with huge crystal eyes; looking so hopeful- …she wants me to _dance_ with her? "…What do you mean?" I asked, voice losing anger or desperation- "Kisara, I'm in my pajamas, and I don't know what time it is, and I-"

She took both of my hands. "I promise that it will not take long! I will take you back to your home soon!"

She pulled me into a kind of weird swinging dance where all we did was go around in circles… but, she was absolutely having the time of her life. She was laughing and humming to the lively music and her eyes were closed and she was just a part of everything- how could something so _stupid_ be so enjoyable, to her…?

My anger softened. This was easy… my eyes closed, too. Her tiny hands were clasped tightly around my large hands and it was all that I could feel. This was okay.

We stopped spinning and she let go of my hands and sighed. "I loved that! Okay, I will take you home, now. Thank you for going out here with me!"

She took my hand again and in the next instant I was in my bedroom. It was 4:00am. I groaned and looked away from the clock. "I'm glad that you had a good time, but think of something at a more reasonable hour next time…" I asked, annoyed that I had to get up for school in only a few hours.

"Okay!" she chirped back. "I will think of something good!"

"Good night, Kisara," I muttered, climbing into bed.

"Good night!" She waited for me to slide fully under the covers, and then approached my bed. "What do you still nee-" I began, but was stopped from completing the sentence- she pushed my bangs up away from my forehead, kissed me there, and then vanished.

If told before this minute, I'd have never believed how a suddenly harshly hammering heart would make it so hard to fall asleep.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

It was a school day, but I really didn't feel like going to school today. I felt awake enough, but I still grumpily went down to the kitchen to find breakfast. Stupid. I had a quiz today. Teacher was stupid.

I opened the dining room door and was surprised- Seto was already in here, fully dressed, reading the newspaper. I sat down in the chair across the table from him. What did I want for breakfast… I wanted a big multi-fruit muffin. "Weston!" I shouted for the butler. He showed up at the door a moment later, and I said, "Can I have a banana-blueberry-peach-cherry muffin and a glass of milk?" He nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen. I liked Weston. He cooked fast.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned and folded my arms on the table but then noticed that big blue eyes were staring at me- right, I forgot to greet Seto. I lifted my head up a bit. "Good morning," I mumbled to him, eyes closing.

"Good morning!"

My head snapped up off of my arms. He was reading the newspaper again now, but … that was the most cheerful greeting that I'd ever heard. …ever. …In my life. " _Huh_ …?" I asked, unable to believe it.

"Is something the matter?" he asked brightly, lowering the newspaper a little bit again. No, there was most definitely some sort of weird energy in his eyes. … did he actually have big, pretty eyes? I was not used to seeing them …not scowling.

"…Are you okay, Seto…?" I asked nervously.

"I'm very well, thank you," he responded, before reaching for a cheese pastry out of the bowl in the middle of the table and biting off of it. "I like this flavor," he commented.

My jaw was downright dropped onto the table. "Um… Seto, have you… are you feeling okay? Do you have a fever…?"

He looked confused. "I don't understand," he chuckled. "I feel fine. I'm sorry if I look sick or anything, but I don't feel that way…?"

He started reading the newspaper again. He may look confused, but _I_ was the one who was really confused- confused on where he'd bought the drugs, or who he'd killed! I made a mental note to call Pegasus or something to make sure that my brother wasn't in this kind of mood because of the success of his hit man…

After school, that day, I was waiting for my limo to pull up to the front to pick me up. I was wearing the Millennium Ring- suddenly, I felt it shift under my shirt and felt one of the needles go stiff and point to something that was approaching me from the side- I looked over my shoulder and saw Joey and Tristan running towards me. " _Mokuba! Yes_!" Tristan shouted.

I turned around and waited for them to catch up to me. "Aren't you guys supposed to be in detention-" I began, but Joey breathlessly said, "Dude, I'm freaking worried. Your brother is actin' totally weird."

My heart sank. Did he pass out from the drugs he did, or…? "Is he okay?" I gasped.

" _I don't know!"_ Joey exclaimed. "Like, I tried to put a dead mouse in his backpack, but he caught me doing it, and all he did was say, 'Wheeler, don't do that.' Like he didn't call me any really horrible names or nothin'! And later? At lunch? He was _humming_ to himself."

My eyes widened. "No like, yeah, he was humming. Singing." Tristan added.

Joey shouted, "And it sucks because he's a stupid asshole and has a good singin' voice! So now all of the girls like him even _more,_ because _apparently he can sing!"_

"Apparently," Tristan added again. I frowned. "You skipped detention and ran all the way over here to tell me that my brother is in a good mood."

"Yeah," Tristan said worriedly. "I mean we figure he'll just get pissed off again later and return to his normal self but we wanted to make sure you were aware that something's gotta be wrong."

"Yeah!" Joey said, really angry. "Damnit, he's even starting to take girls' attention away from Bakura now. _Bakura!_ He's an asshole! Make him stop, Mokuba. Fix him."

"This is definitely a serious issue," I muttered. "Yeah, okay, I'll figure out what's up with him."

At home, I found Seto up in his bedroom, scribbling in a notebook. He looked normal enough- he was frowning at whatever he was writing. Homework, I figured. "Seto?" I asked, standing in his doorway.

"You can come in," he said plainly and didn't look up from the book. I stood near his desk and asked, "Um… you know I care about you, right…?"

He looked up at me. "Yes…?"

"So, I'm sorry but I have to ask- …why are you so happy? It's just … you know, it's strange… kind of…"

He chuckled. "I'm sorry that it's so noticeable! It's nothing, Mokuba. Kisara was just nice to me, yesterday, and I'm in a good mood because of it."

I stared at him for a moment. "Does she show up, often?"

"I don't know," he said casually. "I don't really think too often to summon her here… I think she sleeps in the card when I'm not thinking about it. She shows up whenever I hold the Millennium Rod. I think she likes to explore the house, though, so I don't see her all that often…"

…look at him ramble! I smiled at him. "Okay, Seto, I'm glad. It's just that… you're making Joey and Tristan hate you even more…"

His eyes widened, and I explained, "Are you good at singing…?"

He frowned. "…no?" I laughed and continued, "Because, Joey and Tristan apparently heard you humming at lunchtime, and all of the girls were talking about how you had a beautiful voice and now they're all in love with you, and Joey especially is jealous and wants some of those girls!"

He looked stunned. "I don't remember doing that," he muttered. I laughed again. "Well, okay, I'm glad that you're happy!"

"Go do your homework," he told me, returning to his. "Okay," I replied, and went back to my room, humored.

I set the Millennium Ring on the table and opened my desk. …I looked back at the Millennium Ring.

What was it, about it…? I knew that these items had interesting powers that were arguably great- was it true that the items were making my wish come true, and that they were why Seto was becoming happy? I'd definitely wished for that. …but, still…

I simply didn't really _like_ the Millennium Ring. I couldn't say why, but it kind of pissed me off a little bit. I carried it and kept it safe because I felt like I had a duty, as everyone else did- but… something way deep inside of me was afraid of the items, or just downright had some distaste for them.

"You're a butt hole," I told it, out loud. It just lied there. I chuckled.

…did the items alone make people into good duelists? Nobody who had ever held an item had been a bad duelist, as far as I knew. Maybe that was another part of their powers. I had some random cards lying in my desk too. I picked one up: Alligator's Sword. …well, worth a try. I picked up the Millennium Ring and put it around my neck and held up the card. _Um, summon this monster's soul,_ I thought to myself.

Incredibly, the card flashed- and, an _alligator_ was suddenly standing in front of me. Six feet tall and holding a massive sword, It was looking right down at me- not really angrily- heart racing, I gulped and said, "Um, hi, do you battle…?"

It just stared at me for a minute. …it looked like just a big dumb animal. How do you summon monsters to battle with? Did I just summon a monster as a _pet…?_

"Um, what do you do," I asked it.

It stared at me for a moment, let out a kind of jumbled crossed-eyed roar, and then leapt onto my bed. " _Hey-"_ I demanded, "Don't get on that, you stupid-"

…too late. It shit on my bed.

" _No!"_ I shrieked. " _No way, disgusting! Get out of here, you lousy-"_ I ripped the Millennium Ring away from around my neck and tossed it aside- the monster instantly disappeared. …its three pounds of steaming gleaming poop right in the middle of my feather comforter did not.

The door opened suddenly. "Did you shout?" Seto asked nervously- then, he looked at the pile of poop on my bed, and looked at me, and blinked, and slowly backed out of the room and slowly clicked the door shut.

I sighed. Great. How was I going to explain that one. I rubbed my temples for a moment. I guessed that I had a lot of learning to do, regarding controlling monsters.

I looked over at the Millennium Ring that had landed on the floor when I took it off. The items really brought us a lot of problems over the years, but, I guessed that I could ignore that, now, and feel the way that I'd felt a few days ago: grateful, to be reminded that my brother really did have a beautiful smile.


	14. Ferns in a Turmoiled Soil

**_Chapter Fourteen_ **

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

"Done with work for today?" I asked Seto at dinnertime that night.

"Yes," he replied lazily, finishing his remaining soda.

"I bought a new video game yesterday afternoon. Will you play it with me?" I asked hopefully.

His eyebrows raised. I continued, "It's the one where you have to fight the dinosaurs. You know, NOTHING IS EXTINCT FOREVER." I laughed after mimicking the game's motto.

"Sounds mind-numbing and monotonous," Seto said, eyebrows still raised.

I said, "Yeah, probably! Insult it with your intelligence- it'll still be fun!"

He smirked. "Fine. Set it up and I'll show up eventually."

We both stood up from the table and I ran down to the enormous game room on the third floor. This room was my pride and joy: I had decorated it with every video game system known to the year 1998. Me being the vice-president of the world's largest gaming company, this only made sense. There were dozens of giant television sets stationed on the walls and each had a video game system or two or ten attached to them. Of course I wouldn't have it any other way. My friends loved playing games at my house, obviously.

I pushed aside the Dance Dance Revolution pads and pulled two of the giant lounge chairs in front of the TV set that had my new dinosaur game set up. Seto showed up a moment later, wearing white pajama shorts and a T-shirt. He sat down in the chair next to me.

We played the 2-player mode of the game- it was arcade-style and we were aiming to get high scores by killing raptors and T-rexes- but, kill a brontosaurus and we lost points. Brontosaurus: good, T-rex and raptor, bad. I thought that was kind of stupid. T-rexes were of course the most awesome dinosaurs. I kinda hated having to kill them but leave the stupid brontosauruses around.

But at about 9:00, I started to feel a little bit sick. Had dinner been a little bit rotten, or something? I massaged my stomach quickly while still playing the game, not thinking too much of the sickness. Seto's character stopped on the screen and got eaten alive by the giant dinosaur. I cringed. "Ouch!" I laughed.

I kept playing the game for a few more seconds as I felt a little bit sicker, still, and then a little bit cold, but Seto's character didn't move on the screen- I started to ask Seto why he wasn't playing, but stopped when I looked at his face. I was surprised to see that he looked pale and nervous.

"Are… are you okay?" I asked him, setting my controller down.

Eyebrows knitted, he muttered, "Do you feel that?"

"Y… um, the cold…?" I asked hesitantly.

"I… I don't… I can't explain it," he said, standing up. I stood up, too. What was wrong with him?

I followed him out of the game room and up the stairs back to his bedroom; both of us gasped aloud when we saw that the Millennium Rod was on his bedside table, rattling and shaking wildly. Seto ran up to it and picked it up- the instant he touched it, he firmly said, "I… Mokuba, go get the Millennium Ring and some shoes. Come with me. _Quickly!_ "

Scared, I did as I was told- I ran back to my room. The Millennium Ring was on my dresser- it was behaving just as the Rod was: shaking, trembling… I grabbed it and slid into a pair of sandals, not even bothering to worry about how stupid I must have looked wearing a t-shirt, cartoony boxers and sandals…

I met Seto in the hallway, who looked just as stupid as I must have, wearing one of his long navy-blue trench coats with his pajamas… but, I could tell that this was the least of our worries… but what was he worried about? Kisara was floating next to him, and I heard her whimper, "Please go to the park. It is vital that you go to the park, at this moment-"

"I know," Seto said quickly. "I may need your help as the Blue-Eyes."

Kisara nodded and vanished and the card in Seto's pocket glowed for a moment, then he told me, "Come on."

As I followed him down the stairs and through the foyer and into the car, I realized that I was extremely uncomfortable, now, too- we _had_ to leave the house. We had to find something. In an instant, we were speeding down the dark streets.

"Seto… where are we going…? Which park was Kisara talking about…?" I nervously asked.

He stammered back, "I… I know what I'm doing. Just, trust me."

I did, because wherever Seto was driving to, it was the right place to go. In my mind I watched and approved as we hurriedly turned at intersections and sped through one-way streets. We skidded to a stop in the parking lot of the local park- Seto and I cautiously left the car. "Stay right with me," he commanded me.

It was very dark out here- there were some streetlamps nearby, but they didn't do much to illuminate the night scene. I could just make out the outlines of the swings and slides.

It was completely quiet, too- not even the sounds of crickets or other nocturnal animals pierced the darkness. I could hear only my nervous heartbeat in my ears and the crunching of the grass under our feet. It was kind of creepy. I didn't like it. Why did we have to be here? We _had_ to be here, but why?

"What do you think is here, Seto…" I began, but was interrupted by his horrified, sharp gasp and sudden break into running.

Then, he shouted, " _Yugi!"_

 _Yugi_ …? I ran, following him, and soon enough I saw what he saw- _Yugi's crumpled figure_ lying face-down in the grass. In the few seconds that it took me to catch up to Seto, he had already fallen to his knees down next to Yugi and had turned him over and was shaking him, shouting, "Yugi! Say something! _Yugi!"_

" _What's wrong with him?"_ I gasped, horrified- even in the darkness I could see that his eyes were closed and lips just parted- was… was he _breathing_? His hand was clutching the Millennium Puzzle like a vice grip- his hand had scratches on it and it was lightly bleeding… it looked like someone had tried to fight him for it…

Seto had two fingers pressed to Yugi's jaw line- after a few seconds, he swore under his breath and shifted Yugi in his arms so that he could stand up and carry him. "My phone- my phone is in the car-" he began, until we both heard a kind of _chuckle…_

"High Priest Set. Quite a sight," it whispered.

Seto looked around frantically. " _Who's there?"_ he demanded, holding Yugi protectively. _"Show yourself!"_

"Honoring your sworn duty to protect the soul of the chosen one…"

" _Come out of the darkness, you coward! Fight me!"_ Seto shouted, standing very close to me and still tightly gripping Yugi.

" _There_!" I shouted, pointing forward- I saw, not far from me, a shadowy figure; tall, well-built… who … _what_ was it? It was _holding_ something… a jar, or…

Seto whispered, " _That jar…"_ He took just a second to kneel back down and gently drop Yugi's shoulders into my arms as I also stooped down. My heart was racing; Yugi's skin was cold… and his head was horribly limply on my shoulder- Seto then stood up and quickly pulled the Millennium Rod out from his back belt loop.

" _No!"_ I yelled, as Seto rushed forward, Millennium Rod unsheathed in his hand, and attacked the figure- he leapt on the figure and I could hear them both throwing punches- the figure yelled aloud and I knew Seto had slashed it with the Millennium Rod's knife-

But then, I heard the figure's angry growl, and suddenly, I saw that it had grabbed Seto by the neck- " _I could kill you here… I could drain every last drop of life out of your beating heart in an instant_ …" the figure whispered as it gripped my brother's neck-

I frantically yelled, _"Seto!"_ and dropped Yugi's shoulders back onto the grass and began to run over to where they were- but, by the time I had taken even a few steps, the figure had dropped Seto. He crumpled to his hands and knees, breathless and clutching at his neck. The figure was gone; it had …just, _vanished…_

" _Big brother! Are you okay?"_ I asked frantically, holding desperately onto his sleeve.

He was winded and shaking, but managed to gasp, "Yes- I'm- …I got… I got this- I had to get this-"

It was the jar. He was clinging to it with the hand that wasn't now clutching at his chest. Something about it… Seto sharply whispered between rapid breaths, "Mokuba… you are not to …leave my sight now. Do… do you understand?"

I quickly gasped, "Yes," and helped him stand up. He was wobbly on his feet for just a second, but then we both rushed back over to where Yugi was lying and knelt down beside him again.

"Carry this," Seto said, thrusting the jar into my hands and sliding his hands under Yugi's arms and knees. "His heart is not beating- we have to get to the car- I can get him to the hospital in a second-"

This jar was _warm_ … it was a round, clay, lidded jar that was only about half as big as a soccer ball… I said, "Wait, Seto…"

"We can't _wait,_ Mokuba- what's wrong with you-"

He was already starting to rush back to the car- but, I felt that this was right…I pointed the Millennium Ring at the jar, knowing what I was doing even though I didn't know what I was doing. Instantly, a white light shot from the jar, and in my surprise I dropped the jar, and it shattered on a rock at my feet. The noise alerted Seto- he turned around and began to demand to know what I was doing, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the white light hanging in the air a foot in front of me and about four feet off the ground- I could do nothing but stare, awestruck, at it. It was beautiful; curling, warm… just hanging in the air…

"What… what is that," Seto asked hesitantly, coming back over to me despite himself, drawn to it like I was.

I muttered, "I don't… I think…"

I held up the Millennium Ring to the light and immediately it shot towards Seto and Yugi- I gasped "no!" quickly, afraid that it was attacking them, but… all it did was melt into Yugi's chest…

Yugi took a deep and shuddering breath and whimpered in pain; I ran forward a few feet to where they were. Seto was demanding, " _Yugi?_ _Yugi!"_

Yugi whimpered, "K… Kaiba… I don't…" clutching at his chest. Seto and I made eye contact and I knew that we were thinking the same thing- we… _had just saved Yugi's soul…?_

Yugi was holding the puzzle up... he was gasping, "The Puzzle… they tried… th… tried to get the… the Puzzle… don't… don't let them have the… Puzzle…"

Seto shakily took the Puzzle out of Yugi's bleeding hand and put it around his own neck. There was then a rustling nearby, and Seto and I both looked up- I looked over my shoulder, behind me… where did the sound come from…?

A dog was barking nearby. Then, I could see from the light of a street lamp close by, _Tristan_ \- he was walking his giant German Shepherd-

"…Kaiba? Mokuba? Is that you guys over there?" he shouted, running towards us.

I gasped, " _Tristan!_ Yugi… we found Yugi, he's hurt…"

" _Yugi?"_ Tristan asked, reaching us, sounding worried.

Yugi muttered, "T… Tristan…" but he was clearly in pain…

Seto growled, "Come with us, Tristan. Mokuba, get my phone out of the glove compartment."

Tristan was hovering over Yugi, looking, horrified, at his pale face and labored breathing- he said, "I'll take my dog home and then call Joey and Téa. They'll want to know what happened."

"Very well," Seto said. "Come with me, Mokuba. We're going to my house, Tristan."

Tristan nodded and ran off with his dog, and I followed Seto back to the car; he gently laid Yugi in the backseat. I climbed into the passenger seat. Seto jammed the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot.

I looked, frightened, up at Seto. He had a mark on his neck where the man had grabbed him… I whimpered, "Are you okay…?"

He glanced down at me. "Yes," he said flatly.

I looked over my shoulder at Yugi, who was lying across the back seat. How long had he… had he been separated from his body? Probably not very long… he seemed to be in more pain than usual when an attack like this happened- I remembered that when Pegasus had messed with me and Seto on the day that he gave us the Millennium Items, we had been like that for six hours and didn't suffer like this, especially not after, what, not even five minutes… what-all happened to Yugi…?

Then I realized that this attack _was_ different. I said, "Seto… when a Millennium Item takes someone's soul, doesn't it leave their body still alive for a little while? Yugi's heart had stopped…"

I saw Seto gulp. "Yes… this was different… I know that this was different…"

We finally pulled up in front of our house and Seto lifted Yugi out of the backseat. In the light of our foyer I realized how miserable we all looked- Yugi was stark white and had bruises on his face and forearms, and Seto and I were all dirty… but I was a little bit scared when I saw that maybe Seto looked a little bit sick, too- his face was also whiter than usual, and there was a kind of discomfort in his eyes…

We were halfway through the foyer when Yugi whimpered in pain and clutched at the front Seto's shirt with the hand that wasn't bleeding- he whispered, "Wh… where…"

"We're at my house, Yugi," I said, standing on my toes so that I could look properly at him. Yugi gulped, eyes still closed, and kept clutching at Seto's shirt. I felt bad for him- he was clinging to Seto desperately, like he might have been scared…

Seto continued walking- he went down the first-floor hallway to the right to the wing of the house where the guest rooms were. He set Yugi down in the bed in the guest room closest to the foyer- or, at least he tried to- Yugi's hand wouldn't let go of the front of Seto's shirt.

"Let go, Yugi," Seto told him quietly, "You're okay."

Finally, Yugi's hand fell and he sighed and his head turned to the side. Finally it looked like he was resting.

"Tristan will be back soon," Seto muttered, massaging his chest and standing up. He took the Millennium Puzzle away from around his neck and set it on the dresser.

"Seto-" I said, startled. "Please sit down, you look sick too…"

I was a little bit surprised when he actually did slump down on the foot of the bed, hand still at his chest. Sweat was on his forehead and he was breathing kind of quickly… I reached up and pushed his bangs back and felt his forehead. He felt cold, too, which surprised me, because it was a warm night- I whimpered, "What did that… what did he _do_ to you, big brother…?"

He sighed in an attempt to control his breaths and quietly said, "I… I don't really know. I felt… kind of steadily weaker by the second. I don't know if he was actually doing something to me... he didn't really _choke_ me, so…"

"Seto," I said miserably, "I'm… that _scares_ me…!"

"It's okay, buddy," he muttered, softly patting me on the head. "Really." He looked back at Yugi, on the bed. "Tristan said that he would call Wheeler and Téa…"

"Do you think that Kisara could have helped us tonight? I don't know where she is, now, but can you summon her…?" I suggested.

"Yeah, okay," he replied quietly. He picked up the Millennium Rod and the card automatically glimmered.

She appeared suddenly in the middle of the room. She smiled down at us and sat directly behind Seto on the bed. "Do you feel sick?" she asked him pleasantly.

"I guess, yeah."

She stood up on her knees behind him and requested, "Lean your head forward a little bit!"

We both looked confused but Seto tilted his head forward, and she touched the back of his neck- instantly he took a deep breath and the color in his face looked better. " _How-!"_ I gasped.

"Do not doubt my powers!" Kisara chirped. "He used quite the energy-draining power on you, there. But it is nothing that my power cannot fix!"

"You… can _heal?"_ I asked, dumbfounded.

"Kind of," she giggled. "I am the spirit of the White Dragon! There is nothing that I cannot do!"

Seto swallowed hard and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… wow, that's amazing. Thank you very much."

"Good!" Kisara sang. She turned around and looked at Yugi, who was lying next to her. "Oh. He looks very bad, too."

"Can you help him?" I asked.

She nodded in response and tapped her pointer finger in the middle of his chest- his breaths immediately eased. "He will be a little bit uncomfortable, but it is much better. He will rest it off. Now, let us wait for Yugi's friends."


	15. Oleander

_**Chapter Fifteen** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

I felt cold, but… not unhappy. My mind was racing. Everything was green. Through blurred vision I could see… _Mai…_

She was whimpering my name. I knew what was happening. I had lost the duel. The Seal of Orichalcos was growing closer and closer to me… I muttered, "Mai… that was one of the best duels I've fought. …Thank you."

She was holding me. She was supporting me, standing. I was about to lose my _soul_. I could very well be dying… but… I knew that I had gotten to her. I knew that I had changed her feelings about power, and about being around Dartz, so… so, it was okay. My head was on her chest. All I could hear was her rapid heartbeat and the …somehow gentle swirling of the Seal around me…

It was time. With the last bit of strength that I had left, I slipped out of Mai's grasp and shoved her out of the Seal, grabbing her Orichalcos stone as she flew backwards… the Seal contracted around me, and it felt like I was suddenly struck in the chest with something large and heavy… green light was all that I could see, and I was flying, and-

I gasped suddenly and sat up quickly. Chest heaving, I looked around… I was in my bedroom. The clock on my bedside table read that it was midnight. I hadn't been sleeping for very long.

I swore under my breath and leaned my head in my hands. Even though I of course didn't like falling to the Orichalcos, it was… the last memory of Mai that I had. I thought about her all the time. I missed everything about her: mostly, our friendship… and yet, something inside of me knew that there was something more, there, too.

I sighed, really sad. I missed her… but, when it came down to it, I knew that one day she would have the courage to find me again and see me… and then, that was when everything would be right. Until then, I _was_ actually happy knowing that she was somewhere out there, regaining her strength and becoming honorable in her own eyes. I knew she could do it. And I knew one day we'd meet again. I just… I really wanted that day to come, already.

Damn. I leaned back against the pillows. I hadn't been asleep for very long and I wanted to go back to sleep. I was still tired… and perhaps downright sick. There was cold sweat on my forehead and I felt nauseous and gross. The bed was warm and it felt like I was kind of sinking into it… I closed my eyes, ignoring my still-racing heart.

Then my phone rang, on the bedside table. I sighed, annoyed, and picked up the phone without even bothering to open my eyes or roll out of bed. "Huh," I muttered into it.

" _Joey! We've got a huge problem!"_ Tristan yelled wildly on the other line. My eyes jerked open and suddenly I realized that my racing heart wasn't caused by just the dream- something was _wrong-_ Tristan continued frantically, "Kaiba and Mokuba found Yugi- he's hurt- they're taking him to their house-"

"Yugi, hurt?" I gasped, quickly sitting up in bed. "What… _he's hurt?"_

"Kaiba said he'd explain once we were all at his house- bring a change of clothes and get over here, Joey! Kaiba says it's dangerous to be outside- he's sending a car for you. I'm going to call Téa!"

He hung up. I dropped the phone without even replacing it on the receiver and leapt out of bed and into my sneakers, grabbed the Millennium Scales off of the top of my TV, and ran out the door. A limo was already in front of my apartment building's front door and I got into it- we pulled up moments later in front of Téa's house. She was waiting, already- looking as scared as I felt. "Tristan said Yugi's in trouble-" she whimpered as she got into the limo, Millennium Tauk hanging from her hand.

Téa and I leapt out of the limo and ran up to the front doors- Kaiba's butler let us in, saying, "They're in the guest room on the first floor, down the hallway to the right." Téa gasped a thank-you at him and we entered the house and went straight to that room. We entered, and saw that Tristan, Kaiba and Mokuba were all in here- Mokuba and Kaiba were covered in grass stains and all three of them had dirt on their clothes. The Millennium Puzzle was lying on a dresser… and, on a bed in the middle of the room, was-

" _Yuge_!" I yelled, rushing up to him. " _Yuge, speak to me!"_

He didn't respond… only lied there, still, breathing shakily. There was a bandage wrapping around his left hand. There were a few bruises on his face…

"We'll tell you all what happened," Mokuba said, as Téa knelt down by the side of the bed and grasped Yugi's unhurt hand. "The Millennium Ring and Rod were acting strangely- like, they were shuddering really bad…"

"I didn't notice the scales doin' anything strange, but I wasn't really watchin' 'em…" I muttered.

Téa said, "I had left the Tauk in my jewelry box… didn't see it…"

"Well, Seto…" Mokuba looked up at Kaiba. "How did you know that Yugi was in the park…?"

"I didn't," Kaiba said. "I don't know how I knew that it was right, from the beginning."

Tristan looked confusedly at him. He said, "I don't… you know, I kind of know what you mean… I just, like, _had_ to walk Blankey tonight. I don't usually do that at night…"

"I felt sick a few hours ago," Téa said. "I was really nervous. I bet the Millennium Items were talking to all of us that way… do you think?"

"Maybe. Probably. Well, anyway, so we went to the park, and there Yugi was- he was face-down in the grass, and he wasn't moving and he wasn't breathing… we were about to take him to the hospital when there was a voice…" Mokuba continued.

Kaiba interjected, "I would have ignored it, except that it called me 'Priest Set.' I knew then that whoever that person was had something to do with Yugi…"

"Seto attacked the person," Mokuba said.

"Attacked? What did you do?" Téa asked shakily.

Kaiba frowned. "Leapt on him. I would have tried to summon a monster or something like that, but I noticed that he was holding a jar- and I knew that I had to get that jar. I stabbed him with the Millennium Rod's blade… I must not have hurt him very badly, because all I did was make him mad…"

"It scared me so much," Mokuba whimpered. "But the figure didn't do anything else… he just, like, disappeared, and we got the jar… but then I noticed something weird about the jar, and I used the Millennium Ring to see what it really was… when I pointed the ring at it, well…"

Kaiba and Mokuba exchanged uncomfortable looks, and Mokuba finished, "I… I think the figure had put Yugi's soul into the jar. This awesome light came out of the jar and went into Yugi's body, and he woke up for a little while- he started breathing again…"

There was a horrible silence in the room. I felt cold and sick to my stomach and I knew that everyone else in the room felt the same way. His _soul_ …?

Tristan shakily said, "…good catch, you guys…" and Kaiba made a sort of "hmph" noise and said, "I wish that I could recognize anything about that person who was there… he wore a black cloak that covered his face. I couldn't see anything in the dark, and I didn't distinguish the voice…"

"Is there any blood left on the Rod's blade?" Tristan asked. "We could try to do DNA or something…"

"No, none," Kaiba said. "I'm very disappointed."

"Where do you think you managed to stab 'im?" I asked.

Kaiba frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe in the shoulder, maybe in the face. My fist was raised… the man appeared to be about as tall as I was."

"Who would want to do that to Yugi…?" Téa asked quietly, squeezing his hand.

"Someone who doesn't want the Egyptian gods summoned," Kaiba said immediately. Everyone looked back up at him. "Whoever that person was is involved with Zorc- they must be. That person called me by the title that I had when I was on Atem's court. They must have some kind of connection to the Millennium Items because if they were able to extract his soul…"

"Yeah!" I gasped, suddenly thinking of that. "What did they use to …to do that?"

"We should talk to Pegasus…" Mokuba muttered. "You all have your items, right?"

Tristan, Téa and I all said "yes," and Mokuba said, "That person might have attacked Pegasus- they might have stolen his Eye and used it? We kind of panicked… I should have thought to like, freeze him in his tracks or something, using the Millennium Ring…"

"I just physically attacked him with the Rod," Kaiba said. "I didn't think to challenge him to a shadow game or something like that… I was so focused on getting the jar."

"But even if the Eye has nothing to do with it, we know that there are other powers that can… can take someone's soul, right…?" Téa asked. "I mean… if this person is with Zorc, then they might have a new ability that we don't know of yet, right…?"

"It's not impossible," Tristan said.

Kaiba said, "While I was fighting with him, he said, 'I could drain your life.' I don't know if that's an insight into what kind of power we are dealing with; but, it's different from the Millennium Items in the sense that his heart had stopped after only a few minutes."

There was a groan from the bed: Yugi was waking up. All of us crowded around the sides of the bed and I gasped, " _Yuge! Yuge!"_

Yugi's eyes slowly opened and he looked up at all of us and whispered, "Guys…"

Téa threw her arms around his head and he gasped in pain. Tristan asked, "Are you okay…?"

Téa let go of Yugi and he quietly asked, "The Puzzle… where's the Puzzle…?"

"I have it," Kaiba said.

Yugi closed his eyes, satisfied with that answer. He then muttered, "I'm… I'm okay… …I think… I think I know what happened…"

"You _do?"_ Tristan asked, surprised. "You know what happened to you?"

"Someone… someone broke into my house," Yugi muttered. "They tried to take the Puzzle… I grabbed it and ran… I wanted to go someplace where I could… I could summon a monster, but they… they attacked me…" His hand went to the middle of his chest. "It still hurts…"

"I'm sorry, man," I said in an attempt to be soothing. "Everything's okay now though."

Yugi nodded sleepily and slowly whispered, "I couldn't let them have the Puzzle…" and fell silent again.

Téa said, "I… I think he's going to be okay…" nervously.

"Someone broke into his house…" Tristan muttered. "But… that doesn't explain much. Doesn't explain who they are or what kind of power they used to take his soul…"

"Could be anything," I muttered.

Kaiba left Yugi's bedside and walked towards the door. "All of you, stay here tonight. There are guest rooms all down this hallway for you. Someone should keep an eye on Yugi, too. Come with me, Mokuba- I want you to stay in my room tonight."

He left the room and Mokuba followed him. I turned to Téa and Tristan. Téa said, "I'll stay with Yugi, tonight," and Tristan and I both nodded.

Tristan said, "Don't let the Tauk or Puzzle leave your sight."

Tristan and I left Téa and Yugi alone in the room. Tristan closed the door behind us as I got an idea. "Hold up-" I said, and quickly left the hallway and saw that Kaiba and Mokuba were now walking on the second-floor inside balcony that overlooked the grand foyer. "'Ey! Kaiba! Mokuba! Hold on!" I shouted.

Both of them looked over the railing down at Tristan and me on the ground. "What," Kaiba asked crossly.

"I just wanted to say thanks," I shouted up at them.

Kaiba's eyebrows raised and I continued, "You guys… you put your lives at risk to save Yugi. Yugi'd be dead if it weren't for you."

Kaiba didn't smile or anything but he made a sort of approving "hmm" noise, and Mokuba gave us a thumbs-up and said, "What else could we have done?"

Tristan and I beamed up at them. Tristan said, "Yeah, that was really awesome of you guys. Also, thanks for letting us sleep over here tonight."

Kaiba said, "Very well," and continued down the hallway that I assumed led to his bedroom.

Tristan sighed happily. "He's an asshole, but I think he likes us."

I clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Well, whether he wants to be our friend or not, we sure do owe him a lot. Wanna go raid his fridge?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Tristan beamed at me.

After eating every last morsel of food in the enormous refrigerator that was in Kaiba's enormous kitchen, a very voluptuous Tristan and I found the guest rooms. I collapsed onto my bed. I was in a good mood and I felt safe, but I couldn't help but let my mind race. Yugi… that person had gone after his _soul…_

He was okay now. Nobody was going to hurt him now… but Kaiba hadn't been able to stop that person permanently. Who knew when he was going to strike again? _Who_ was he going to strike?

I closed my eyes and sighed. I was warm…

_Bam._

" _Yes!"_ I shouted. The cannon went off loudly and bashed clear through the side of the wooden ship in front of me.

_Bam._

My ship shook and there was a crash nearby. _I'd been hit!_

_Bam._

I jerked my eyes open and sat up. I had been dreaming again… I sighed and lied back against my pillows and closed my eyes.

_Bam._

I sat up, heart racing. I hadn't been dreaming that sound. It was an enormous, booming sound… what was it? Thunder? I leapt out of bed as the floor shook, accompanying the sound. I looked out of the window. The sky outside was black- black with _clouds_. This time of year, at 6:00 in the morning, it was dawn and already becoming light outside- but now, these angry, swirling, black clouds… this was not normal.

There was another blast. I shielded my face from it for a moment before looking over my shoulder at the Millennium Scales, sitting on the bedside table. It wasn't doing anything, or anything. It was just lying there, sparkling, like usual.

The boom was back and the ground rumbled again. I went and snatched the Millennium Scales and left my bedroom. I ran down the hall to the bedroom where Yugi and Téa were sleeping and jerked open the door.

Téa and Yugi were awake. They were sitting on the bed, still- Téa had her arms tightly around Yugi's shoulders and was holding his head to her chest. Tristan was in here, too- he was standing at the large window on the other side of the room. Everyone looked over their shoulders at me when they heard the door open. Tristan said, "Good. I was just about to come wake you up. I don't like this."

There was a rumble in the air, this time, and the room shook just slightly. Tristan narrowed his eyes and there was another boom and another shake of the room. "What the hell…" he muttered, observing the angry clouds confusedly.

"I don't know how long it's been going on for. How long have you all been up?" I asked, sitting on the bed next to Yugi and Téa. "That's not just another thunderstorm, is it?"

"No, I don't think so," Tristan replied dully.

Yugi said, "We've been up for a little while…"

"Do you feel okay?" I asked Yugi.

He nodded and said, "Yeah, perfectly fine. Don't worry about me." He looked strong and his voice sounded steady- it appeared that sleeping for even a few hours helped him recover almost completely.

There was, then, silence in the room… none of us said anything, and there was a break where there were no loud noises from outside. Tristan looked over his shoulder back at me for a moment. "Well…" he began, but there was then a shudder that was so great that Tristan was thrown off of his feet. He pushed himself up as I swore under my breath and suggested, "We gotta call someone- Pegasus, or… I'm gonna get Kaiba…"

But I didn't even manage to get up from the bed to go to the door before it opened and Kaiba and Mokuba entered, fully dressed, Millennium Items in hand. "Are you guys okay?" Mokuba asked quickly.

"Yeah, fine," I replied.

Kaiba commanded, "Get some clothes on, all of you. We're going to-"

The phone on the bedside table then rang. Kaiba picked it up. " _Yes?_ " he said angrily into the receiver. The person on the other line started talking- Kaiba's eyes widened and he looked over his shoulder at all of us for just a second before pressing the button on the phone that put it on speaker- the person on the line was in mid-sentence, and we all heard him say, "-this hour, Kaiba-boy!"

"Pegasus?" Yugi asked quietly.

Kaiba kept the receiver held to his ear and shouted, "Pegasus, are you okay?"

"Am I okay? Of course I'm okay! How nice of you to ask!" It was certainly Pegasus on the other line- his voice sounded kind of stuffy, but he was perfectly chipper, just like usual.

"You... please tell me that you still have the Millennium Eye," Kaiba continued.

"Yes?" Pegasus asked, confused. "I can't believe that you would deem me so irresponsible as to lose it-"

"Never mind," Kaiba said quickly. "What the hell is this storm?"

"Oh, I have my ideas. I think it would be the greatest thing in the world if we were to all meet in your headquarters building to talk about it. Can you get everyone together and go soon?"

"I… yes. Give us thirty minutes," Kaiba said. He hung up the phone.

"Should we have told Pegasus about what happened to Yugi?" Téa asked.

"I guess maybe later," Mokuba said. "He doesn't seem to know anything about it, but they didn't get his Millennium Eye…"

"I don't like to think that someone has found a new power…" Yugi began hesitantly.

"Once you're ready, we'll leave," Kaiba said immediately. "Be sure you have your Items with you."

We met back in the KaibaCorp headquarters a half-hour later. Téa, Tristan, Yugi and I entered the second-floor meeting room. I could tell that this room was probably used for smaller business meetings- the long table looked like it comfortably seated ten-or-so people. Pegasus was sitting grumpily in a large chair at the head of the table. He looked _horrible._ Kaiba was very strong and had left him in quite a bad state after beating the shit out of him, even that long ago- it had been about a week, now- Pegasus had a spectacular black eye, a long inch-wide bandage on his cheek and a cast on his nose, and his left arm was in a sling.

Kaiba had stayed behind at the front door to engage the security systems- the doors had been open for us because Pegasus also knew the guest pass-code that let us all in. Moments later, Kaiba entered the room, and, upon seeing Pegasus for the first time since he gave us the Items, smiled, as though very pleased with himself. Mokuba followed him into the room. "Sit, everyone," Pegasus said stuffily. He sounded funny when trying to talk with the cast on his nose. Kaiba was smiling peacefully at him as he sat down at the other end of the table and Mokuba sat next to him.

"It looks like I was right about Zorc." Pegasus was nervous. "There was a strange occurrence in the weather this morning, as I'm sure all of you see. It's died down, more, now… but, it goes to show that Zorc is building himself up. That's what it is. I'm glad we all have the Millennium Items now… we can learn to summon monsters with them."

"We've been playing with them a lot," Tristan said stupidly. I laughed quietly.

"Good." Pegasus nodded. There was a low rumble from outside of the room. I could see that the sun's rays were starting to peek through the dark clouds. The clouds were starting to retreat. Was the whole show a warning, or a calm before the storm, or…? "But," Pegasus continued, "Playing with the items' powers and summoning monsters are two different events, though. I need to properly train you all."

"Train us?" Yugi asked. "Atem and I have played shadow games… we've all pretty much been part of shadow games…"

"We're summoning monsters from stone slabs, as opposed to cards. Much of the rules of my game are not related to the ancient duels; and, the ancient duels are the ones we have to re-create now. This is no game," Pegasus said quietly.

I frowned. What was the difference? I guess you couldn't summon trap cards or whatever. Like, monsters have trap and magic powers instead of the cards having them… what about life points, too? Or, attack points? Hmmm…

"When do you want to train us?" Téa asked.

"Immediately!" Pegasus gasped. "I hope that you kids didn't have any dates, today… I've talked with my business partner. He'll be joining us. In fact, excuse me… I will go speak with him again, now…"

To my surprise, Kaiba's face had gone really white, and his eyes were wide. What was wrong with him? Pegasus wobbled out of the room. Yugi asked, "Kaiba, what's wrong?"

"Do you know who his business partner _is,_ Yugi?" he growled. Yugi shrugged, and Kaiba hissed, _"Ziegfried Von Schroder_!"

 _Ah_. Ziegfried had tried to sabotage Kaiba's Grand Prix tournament. Even though Kaiba had beat him, it was understandable that he still didn't like him… come to think of it, I didn't like him, either. I had been defeated by Ziegfried in the tournament; and it was one thing to lose… it was another thing to lose and then have the winner be completely and horribly disrespectful to you. Plus, he wore really bad clothes.

Pegasus came back a moment later. "Here's what we'll do," he told us. "Zieg-boy has links with the Berlin Museum, which has excavated some of the stone slabs with monsters in them. He would be delighted to let us use them. Ziegfried brought them to Japan, recently, so the first thing we'll do is go to his home here, where he has the slabs. We can learn there, first."

Kaiba groaned. "I have better things to do than follow you on your field trip, Pegasus."

"Oh, come on, Kaiba, you'll have fun, because you'll get to blast your friends with monsters!" Pegasus said cheerily. "Let's depart for Ziegfried's castle now!"

"It's Friday," Yugi said. "We have school today…"

"Pish-posh. I'm rich; I can do anything; I'll arrange for your teachers to give you make-up work. I'll take my helicopter; my time there will be different from yours, so Kaiba-boy, can you take your own copter?"

Kaiba scoffed a kind of affirmative answer, so the next thing we knew, we were flying towards the little city to the south. Everyone sat silently on the trip over… with the exception of Mokuba sighing, "I _did_ have a date today…"


	16. Picking Palm Leaves

_**Chapter Sixteen** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

Our helicopter landed in front of Ziegfried's house an hour later and we all got off of it. The castle was a kind of light pinkish-purple color and was built like… well, a castle. It was bigger than even my mansion, and that was really saying something. I frowned. This was even just another one of his various homes that we rich people liked to put up all over the world. Seto and I had a few vacation homes, but none of them were as elaborate as this. How did Ziegfried afford this kind of stuff, when competing with us…

I followed Joey out of the helicopter. I heard him tell Yugi, who was in front of him, that he needed to use the bathroom- he ran across the street and stood in front of a fire hydrant and used it as a toilet. Yugi began to say "You could use a restroom in the castle…" but Joey was already over there. He finished and joined us again. Pegasus' helicopter was on a different pad near ours. He had beaten us here.

We entered the enormous front doors. I heard Tristan comment on how he can hear his own voice echo. He was right. Although, this place was at least well-decorated…

I could tell that Seto was _not_ looking forward to seeing Ziegfried again. I could recognize the different "anger" faces he wore. Sometimes he wore a "I don't like you" anger face, sometimes he wore a "I don't want to be here" anger face, and sometimes he wore a "this is wasting my time" anger face. The one he was presenting now was a "this is the last place on Earth that I want to be now" anger face.

Me, though… I forced myself to be excited. I hadn't done many tricks with the Ring… so far, all I had done was screw with Oshiri. Now would be my chance to actually correctly summon a monster with it. That would be cool, right? Like, I could actually summon a monster and have it do something good?

One of Ziegfried's butlers came down a staircase and greeted us. He said, "Master Schroder is in his private quarters. The stones that we received from the museum are there, too. He is waiting for you all; please, come with me."

As we followed him through the frilly, elaborate halls, my mind raced. What kind of monster was I going to summon? Did it take particular skill levels to summon some different ones? Maybe there were some new (well, old, I guessed) monsters that I'd never seen before. I'd tried summoning Alligator Sword that one time, but I'd clearly done something wrong…

We climbed a few flights of stairs (Téa and Tristan began to complain about being tired) and the butler stopped in front of another pair of elegant double-doors. "He is through here," the butler said. "Enjoy your visit."

Yugi thanked him, and we walked into the room. I looked up at the ceiling in awe. The room was completely enormous. Decorations of elegant flowers and seraphs lined the walls and floors and curtains. The stone slabs were against the wall, to the right. Against the other wall was a big pool of some sort, filled with a pinkish water, and in it was-

"Good afternoon, everyone," Ziegfried said. Pegasus was sitting a few feet away from him, beaming at us through his battered face. He had taken the cast off of his nose (it was pretty fantastically misshapen). Yugi uncomfortably said, "Oh… um, are we early?" I frowned. Ziegfried invited Pegasus over for a pool party before we summoned monsters?

"No, no, you're just in time, Yugi-boy!" Pegasus said happily. He and Ziegfried stood up. The water level was high enough to come up to their mid-thighs, and… they were… …they were both… _completely naked._

Everyone gasped. Téa let out a kind of shriek and Seto's hand rushed to cover my eyes. I heard Ziegfried chortle and say, "Oh, don't be startled! Frequent milk baths are a tradition in my family."

"I like this tradition!" Pegasus laughed. I heard splashing and assumed that they both got out of the tub. 

"Come on, dudes, what's the deal," Tristan asked quickly, "Get some clothes on, for shit's sake… there are ladies in here!"

Pegasus sighed and said, "Oh, alright. But just for right now." He and Ziegfried left the room. Everyone stood in a moment of silence, uncomfortably. Yugi's face was beet red, and Téa's hand was still plastered over her mouth in horror. Joey, strangely, though, was smiling as though very satisfied with himself. Um…

Pegasus and Ziegfried returned, then- wearing nothing but fluffy white bath robes.

"Let's begin!" Pegasus said, clapping his hands together excitedly. He pulled a lock of his hair back, and his eye flashed. Instantly, a monster appeared in front of us. I recognized it as Toon Alligator, coming from the slab immediately to Pegasus' left.

"The Millennium Items bend to your will," he said. "That does not quite necessarily mean that the monsters do, too. Monster-summoning takes skill of heart and experience. I don't mean to pick favorites, but Yugi-boy and Kaiba-boy… you can probably summon more powerful monsters than your friends can. But it all comes with practice.

"And, that's to another point! Much as I am actually happy to see you, Kaiba," (Tristan whispered, "Yeah, I'll say he was happy to see Kaiba," to Joey, who cried silent tears of laughter while I felt a horrible sickness brew in my stomach) "I hugged you for a reason other than to express my delight. I know you're not a huggy boy, so it would set your emotions off- Kaiba-boy, try to summon some monsters."

Seto held the Millennium Rod up. From the stone came Duos.

"Good, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said. "Now, the curious thing is that the monsters' strengths seem to follow your feelings. Kaiba, I believe that you would not be able to manage Yugi-boy's Kuriboh, now."

" _How dare you insult me like that_ ," Seto spat. "Not be able to control _Kuriboh_?"

"Well, you could _control_ it, but it would be very weak, because Kuriboh does not respond well to an angry or vengeful heart. Likewise, more violent monsters gain strength from such negative emotions. The key to these Ancient Egyptian battles is to know your monster and to become one with your monster."

I frowned. This was much more than just a game of Duel Monsters. Pegasus said, "Joey and Tristan-boys… why don't you try summoning monsters, too."

"Sexy," Tristan said, holding up the Key- Super Robo Yaro burst from a stone, as Joey summoned Flame Swordsman in the same way.

"Try attacking each other," Pegasus said.

"Aw, crap," Tristan said- his monster was weaker. Joey laughed and said, "Take this!"

Flame Swordsman stabbed Super Robo Yaro through the gut. Joey said " _Ha!"_ in laughter, but Tristan yelled in pain and heaved over, clutching at his stomach. Yugi gasped, _"Tristan! Are you okay_?"

"I… this… this really hurts…" he whimpered through clenched teeth.

Pegasus sighed. "How quickly we forget that your monsters are connected to your souls! If enough of your monsters are destroyed, or if you lose a few high-level ones, then you die!"

" _Die?"_ I yelled. "Wait, like, actually _die?_ Like, _we die_?"

"Uh-huh!" Pegasus said brightly.

Seto and I exchanged horrified glances as Yugi and his friends all muttered approvingly, remembering that this was true. Well… hold on a second! I didn't really know how much I want to do this, now- and I could tell that Seto was feeling irate again.

"That's an appallingly significant detail to leave out, Pegasus," he snarled. "While I agree that stakes should be high… to actually cause _death_ …"

"Oh, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said, humored. "Bitch, bitch, bitch! All you ever do is bitch. We're doing this training in order to _prevent_ you from losing monsters! The stronger you are, the stronger the monsters that you can summon are!"

I looked down at the Millennium Ring while Seto and Pegasus bickered. I felt scared for just a second, but then again, maybe this _was_ the right thing for all of us to do. I kind of felt like maybe the Millennium Ring would help me out. Maybe this was a good learning experience…? I said, "Seto…" hesitantly. He looked away from Pegasus and down at me. I said, "I think it's okay… you're a good duelist, and I can get good… I think it's okay for us to help…"

Seto's eyes narrowed. He said, "I am not one to back away from a challenge. I wasn't going as far as to say that we aren't going to be a part of this… however, I was merely expressing my frustration that all of the conditions were not mentioned…" He glared at Pegasus… he probably had the scariest glare of anyone I'd ever met.

"You're okay with me doing this too?" I asked.

He looked down at me again, looking a little bit troubled. "Well… I can't say that I'm not apprehensive, but I trust my own monsters enough to know that if you ever need help, I can provide it; if there's anything we learned from Gozaburo, it's that the loser's fate is unavoidable; but…"

"Cool," I said. "Can I summon a monster now?"

"Of course!" Pegasus said. "Here, Mokuba-boy- summon a monster, and see if it's strong enough to beat Kaiba-boy's Duos. Let this be a great battle of sibling rivalry!" He laughed.

" _What_?" Seto demanded. "Don't you _dare_ make me do that, Pegasus…"

Pegasus made a sort of 'tsk-tsk' noise and said, "Kaiba-boy, that's exactly the teamwork attitude that caused you to lose your duel with me in Duelist Kingdom!" Seto's jaw dropped in amazement and horror that Pegasus would even mention that. "I lost that duel because you could see all of the cards in my hand, you lewd _cheater_!" he snarled.

I gulped and said, "Um… I guess someone can try to attack my monster and we can try to find a trap…"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Pegasus said gleefully, shoving past my brother and standing near me and clapping his hand onto my shoulder. "How about Joey-boy, you attack Mokuba-boy's monster. Then, I think Miss Téa could try to summon a trap monster before Joey-boy's attack goes through?"

"I'll try," Téa muttered nervously. I could tell that she felt rather like I did- a little bit scared. I tugged at the Millennium Ring and hesitantly thought, _summon a good monster…_

From a nearby stone slab came Deep Sea Warrior. I gulped. It was weaker than Joey's monster, too. Joey grimaced, "Sorry, Mokuba- Flame Swordsman, nail it-"

Flame Swordsman lifted his sword and rushed at my monster. Téa held her hands around the Millennium Tauk but she was too slow- the Flame Swordsman stabbed its sword right through my monster, which shrieked and disappeared.

Instantly, a white-hot pain surged quickly through my stomach. I yelped in pain and bent over. Seto gasped, _"Mokuba!"_ and I said, through clenched teeth, "I'm okay…" Téa whimpered, "I'm sorry, Mokuba!"

I stood up straight again, taking a few deep breaths to steady myself. The pain was going away. This was serious business…

We spent a lot of more time practicing summoning monsters. I quickly learned that simply thinking "uh, summon a monster" was ineffective. But, by the end of the training session, I had summoned some pretty decent monsters: Curse of Dragon was my favorite one. Not a bad improvement!

Once we were all clearly winded (everyone except for Seto and Yugi had lost at least one monster and was tired), Ziegfried said, "Herr Kaiba, if you like, I will give you zese stone slabs. KaibaCorp may be responsible for storing them. I have a carrier that you can attach to your helicopter for transportation. Would you like zat?"

"Fine."

"Well. Good. If you're all done, then I think I'm going back into the milk bath!" Pegasus said happily.

"I think zat sounds like a splendid idea," Ziegfried said approvingly. Both men began to untie their bath robes and Yugi said, immediately, "Oh. Well, then, we'd better go."

Nobody argued with him. We all rushed out of the room, and Seto slammed the door behind all of us.

"

We reached the front doors of the castle and climbed into the helicopter. Seto showed up a little while later, followed by some of Ziegfried's servants. Seto climbed into the helicopter and sat down next to me. I could almost _see_ the livid vibes coming off of him… he shortly said, "They're going to hook the latches so that we can carry the stones home."

I frowned up at him. He was _not_ happy. I began to ask him something, but he venomously spat, "Mokuba. Don't speak to me now, please."

It was late in the evening when we landed back in Domino City. After we had been home for a while, I walked into the sitting room, searching for Seto to offer him dinner (our cooks had brought catering because apparently someone had forgotten to go grocery shopping for the last three weeks or something?). 

"Are we going to do more training with everyone, later?" I asked cautiously. Seto narrowed his eyes dangerously and I began to wonder if I should have brought it up. I was surprised when he hissed, "Yes," sharply and clearly with repugnance.

It was like walking in a mine field… I hesitantly said, "Oh… okay. Good… whatever you think is good…"

He gave me a low approving hum. I took that to mean that I should leave him alone. I left the room… then, got an idea. I went to his bedroom. The Millennium Rod was sitting on the desk. I picked it up. I had never held it before- it was heavy.

I frowned and stared at it for a moment. What was Kisara doing? Sometimes I'd see her around here, and sometimes I didn't. Did she sleep in the card when she felt like it? How do you get her out of the card? I picked up his deck of cards, wondering if this would work… I flipped through them until I found the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Um…" I said aloud, holding the top of the Millennium Rod to the card. "Um, Kisara…?"

There was a flash of light from feet in front of me. When it died down, I dropped the Millennium Rod and card in awe. There was a… a glowing figure of… a _woman_ in front of me… I took a few steps backwards, completely dumbfounded. It worked! Kisara was shaking her ghastly hair out of her eyes.

Now that I was expecting her, I appreciated for the first time that she was a pretty girl…! She had long white hair and enormous blue eyes. She looked surprised at first, but then smiled at me. "Mokuba!" she said. "I am excited to see you!"

"I… what… hi," I stammered. She chuckled. "Seto has told me all about you. You are his pride and joy."

I felt a little bit more comfortable now. I mean, even though she'd really startled me when hanging out on the refrigerator, and I didn't understand her powers, I figured I should quit fearing her… this was my brother's girlfriend, right…? I smiled at her. "I need your help," I said. Her eyebrows raised and I went on, "Seto's… well… _really pissed off_. He had a real bad day, and I was thinking maybe we could do something?"

She frowned. Maybe she knew as well as I did that when Seto was _really pissed off_ , it was quite dangerous to go anywhere near him for a while. "What happened to him?" she asked gently.

I frowned. "It was pretty bad. You know about Pegasus, right?"

"Pegasus? Yes; Seto has told me horrific stories…"

"Yeah, well, this was about the worst one…"

"Worst one?" she asked, looking a little bit frightened, now. "Worse than all of the times when Pegasus has tried to hijack your company? Worse than when Pegasus kidnapped you? Worse than the several times that Pegasus has stolen both of your _souls?_ What could possibly be worse…?"

"Pegasus was naked in a pool full of milk."

There was silence as we stared at each other for a moment. Then, Kisara cringed and said, "Oh, my. I see."

"Yeah, it's pretty bad. He burned his clothes, and I'm a little bit nervous that he may put acid on his skin, or something..."

"What do you think might help him feel better?"

"Well… I think he likes it when I make him things or draw him pictures… can you… well, I don't know… like, touch paper…?"

She chuckled. "Yes. I can touch things. I am not a ghost."

"Okay, cool," I said. Then I paused and continued, "By the way, it's nice to, like, really meet you!"

She happily shook my hand. I marveled at how even though I was clearly at least six or seven years younger than she was, my hand was considerably bigger. She said, "It is nice to meet you, too, only-other-person-on-the-planet-whom-Seto-does-not-hate."

I laughed. Who'd have thought that she was funny! I took some of the paper out of Seto's printer and set it on the desk and sat down in the chair that was parked at the desk. "So, we should draw something, or…"

"Maybe write him a poem?" Kisara suggested, standing behind the chair. "Would he like something funny? I think that he likes my sense of humor…"

"He has a sense of humor, too, yeah…" I said thoughtfully. "But he only thinks that something is funny when it's bashing someone who he hates," I chuckled. "You don't seem like the type of person to have the same sense of humor as Seto has… do you get that a lot?"

She smiled at me. "There is a reason that he likes me! So… writing something about someone whom he hates… that should not be hard to do," Kisara chuckled. Then our eyes met, and I knew we had the same thought: together, we said aloud, "We should write him a song about Pegasus!"

It was an hour or so later when I stuck my head back in the door of the study, where the fire was sill roaring in the fireplace and Seto was still sitting in his armchair. I could tell that he was still enraged- he flipped the pages of his book crossly as though punishing the book would punish Pegasus.

"Seto," I said cautiously. His raised his eyes to me but he didn't say anything. I continued, "I have something for you…"

Again he said nothing and didn't smile or even look confused. Still with a stoic frown on his face, he lowered his book… but, that was signal enough for me to come fully into the room, Kisara following me. His eyes widened when he saw her. "Mokuba, you called Kisara here?"

"Yes," she said. "We have made something for you."

Seto still didn't smile or look very interested… he went back to frowning. I said, "We wrote this for you. We hope you like it." Then Kisara began to sing:

_"I know a man named Pegasus;_

_If he's dead, he's at his best,"_

And together, in harmony, we sang,

_"He'd be really great_

_To decapitate"_

I finished the verse with,

_"Or have an ice pick thrust through his chest!"_

And, in harmony, together, Kisara and I finished,

_"Pegasus sucks ass._

_Pegasus sucks ass._

_Pegasus sucks ass!"_

We both stood and smiled widely at Seto, who was still sitting in his chair… only, now, his eyes were wide and mouth slightly agape. After a second of this, his lips broke into a smile and he closed his eyes and chuckled. That chuckle grew into a laugh that eventually left him leaning on his arm for support. My heart was _glowing._ This was _perfect._ I smiled up at Kisara and she smiled down at me.

Seto composed himself and wiped a tear from his eye. Then he stood up and walked over to where we were standing. He clapped his hand on my shoulder and asked, "You both wrote that?"

"Uh-huh," I said. "We can write you a verse, too, if you want to sing with us."

"Mokuba tells me that it has been rumored that you have a lovely singing voice, Seto," Kisara added.

"Even I didn't know that I can sing well," he said, eyebrows raised. "Yes, fine, but, I'll write it, myself, and surprise you with it- I'm not sure that you guys can accurately capture in song what I'd like to say about Pegasus."


	17. A Startlingly Purple Carnation

_**Chapter Seventeen** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

It was bright and early when we all met in front of Kaiba's mansion that bright Saturday morning. Pegasus had said that he'd talked with Kaiba, later, and that they agreed to meet here and learn how to summon monsters in a shadow game. This was a good place to do it, since Ziegfried had given all of the stone slabs to KaibaCorp.

I felt half nervous, half excited. Atem had initiated shadow games plenty of times, and I had even fought in one, with Marik… but, they were extremely dangerous, and I knew this. Marik's game had actually stopped my heart for a while.

I saw a fire hydrant down the street a little ways. "Hold on a second, you guys. Gotta take a leak." I ran off to pee on the fire hydrant. While I was using the bathroom, I saw Pegasus' limo drive by me and stop by the front gates where everyone else was standing. He got out and I finished peeing and ran back up to all of them. Pegasus greeted me happily and said, "Let's go!"

We followed him through the well-kept gardens up to the elegant front doors. A butler opened the door, looking surprised.

"We have an appointment to work with Seto Kaiba!" Pegasus said happily. The butler knitted his eyebrows and said "I haven't heard of this…"

 _Really?_ I wondered. Pegasus chirped, "Oh, he probably just didn't tell you." Pegasus entered the house without the butler saying he can. We awkwardly followed him. Téa apologized as we passed.

"Let's go see where Kaiba-boy is," Pegasus suggested happily. We followed him up the staircase in the giant foyer and down the first hallway, to the right. Eventually we reached a pair of doors that clearly led to the master bedroom. Pegasus opened the door and waltzed in. We all followed him.

So this was Kaiba's bedroom. It was, of course, enormous for a bedroom- there was a large desk and bookshelf off to the right of the door, with armchairs surrounding them. A chessboard was set up in the middle of the room. There was an old, elegant piano here too, and a fountain, and a big computer. Everything was colored light-blue or white. All of the lights were off and the curtains were closed.

I was surprised to see that Kaiba was on the large canopy bed against the wall on the left side of the room. He was sleeping, stomach-down, arms wrapped around one of his large feather pillows. Why was he still sleeping? Didn't he know we had to play shadow games? Pegasus bent over him and chirped loudly, "Good morning, Kaiba-boy!"

Kaiba's eyelids fluttered and he yawned and slowly opened his eyes. He looked up and saw Pegasus leaning over him. Immediately I could tell that he thought that he was in the middle of a terrible nightmare. He lifted his head off of his pillow and spotted the rest of us in his room.

"Waking up?" Pegasus asked happily, taking a few steps back from the bed. Kaiba sat up, looking completely dumbfounded- after a moment of staring blank and scared at all of us, he shouted, "What the _hell_ are you all doing in my _bedroom_!"

"Come on, Kaiba-boy! Let's go summon monsters in a shadow game!" Pegasus said.

"Monsters in a _… what_?" Kaiba asked, clearly extremely angry.

"Didn't you agree for us to meet here…?" Yugi asked hesitantly.

" _No!"_ Kaiba yelled.

"Did I tell you all that?" Pegasus asked us brightly. "Oops!"

Kaiba pulled the covers off of himself and stood up. He looked kind of stupid, wearing his button-down shirt and pajama pants with his hair all messed up, but he was still able to pull off that 'I'm _seriously_ going to kill you right now' shadowy-evil look. Pegasus laughed and said, "Get dressed! When you're done, come to your backyard. I'll teach you all how to perform _shadow games!"_

He skipped out of the room. Kaiba stood there, _fuming._ Yugi turned to him and whimpered, "Sorry… Pegasus said that you said that it was okay for us to come over. We didn't know…"

"Just go outside," Kaiba grumbled, going over to his closet.

"You're actually going to let him teach us how to summon monsters in a shadow game?" Tristan asked, surprised.

Kaiba made a sort of "hmph" noise and said, "I do hate to admit it, but I'm relatively interested in shadow games."

My eyebrows raised. Good, then. We all left his bedroom and passed a very sleepy, groggy, messy-haired Mokuba in the hall. He was holding a glass of orange juice. He mumbled greetings to us before stopping in his tracks and saying "Wait… what're you guys doing here?"

We explained what was going on. At first he frowned, but then he said, "Actually, that sounds kind of cool… okay."

We went out to the backyard, where Pegasus was brooding over monsters in stone slabs. Kaiba and Mokuba appeared in the back doors, Millennium Items at hand, not much later. Kaiba looked even more threatening than usual- he'd gotten himself a new big billowy coat. This one was red. They approached Pegasus, who said, "Now, I must add a discretion- in the Duel Monsters game, anyone with a Millennium Item can summon a god card… but, in these duels, only the Pharaoh's chosen one can."

" _What?"_ I yelled, as Pegasus shrugged and said, "I'm sorry. That's not my rule."

Yugi chuckled and said, "Sorry, Joey…" as I fumed angrily. Kaiba had this superior little smirk on his face. I knew what he was thinking: that I wasn't skilled enough to command a god card anyway. "You gonna be like that, Kaiba?" I demanded. "Come duel me in the shadow game, then!"

He frowned. "No, thanks, Wheeler… actually, I was hoping that I could get direct instruction from Pegasus…"

Pegasus' eyebrows raised. "I wasn't planning on dueling, too…" he muttered.

"I insist!" Kaiba said… actually sounding like he was interested? "I mean… you're the only duelist that has _really_ ever initiated a shadow game, out of all of us. Much as I don't like having to look at you, I want to duel you."

Pegasus sighed happily, taking that as a compliment. "Well, alright, Kaiba-boy!"

Kaiba looked down at Mokuba, who said, "Oh, okay." He ran over to me. "Can I be on your team, Joey?"

"It's all good!" I said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"So!" Pegasus began, once we had all paired up- me and Mokuba vs. Tristan, Kaiba vs. Pegasus, and Yugi vs. Téa. "The Millennium Items are all about justice. Make sure that the punishment you inflict on your enemy is something that you can tolerate being put on you, because it's the same for whoever loses. To be simple, we'll start with a punishment that is easy to reverse- sealing the soul of the loser into cards. A shadow game's penalty can be avoided if the winner decides not to inflict it on the loser or the winner can't do it- but, I want you kids to actually inflict a punishment. I promise it'll be alright."

Pegasus pulled six cards out of his pocket. Each card featured a portrait: one card for each of us. He handed Tristan's card to Mokuba. I looked down at it- the picture of Tristan featured there looked just like him. Pegasus was a good artist.

"Hmmm… I didn't make a card for myself because I didn't know I was going to be asked to duel," he said, once he had given Yugi Téa's card. "I suppose we can just use this blank one." He handed it to Kaiba. "Here you are."

Kaiba scowled down at it. Again, I knew what he was thinking- this is the same shadow game that Pegasus had played on him in Duelist Kingdom.

"In a shadow game, the Millennium Items can't defend against each other like they normally can. So, Miss Téa, you and I have a bit of an advantage- if we choose, we can actually use our Millennium Items to cheat!" He giggled. Kaiba seethed, "Swindle in our duel, Pegasus, and I will immediately brainwash you into _surrendering_."

Pegasus sighed, "You're so _hostile_ , Kaiba-boy! I'm not _going_ to cheat. I'm just saying that I _technically_ could. Although I guess in a sense, any of us could cheat… anyway."

"You're about to get fudgepacked, man," I sneered at Tristan, who gulped. Téa, who was to my right, looked at me and said, "Fudgepacked? By who?"

"Me!" I said, looking at her.

Her eyebrows raised. "Gross," she said, turning back to Yugi. Mokuba laughed and I flipped Téa off and turned back to face Tristan.

It was an interesting round of duels: poor Tristan just honestly wasn't very good, and Mokuba and I were able to defeat him with relative ease. Yugi also wiped Téa off of the map quickly; he came and stood next to me and Mokuba, and we watched the duel between Kaiba and Pegasus finish.

"Oh, _poopies_ …" Pegasus muttered. There was a spectacular explosion of light and Pegasus' monster disappeared.

Kaiba just stood and smiled cruelly. Immediately, Pegasus collapsed and the card that was in Kaiba's hand shined quickly. Kaiba chuckled. "I can hardly believe how satisfying that this is."

I pressed my card to Tristan's back and kind of willed Tristan to wake up. He inhaled sharply. "You okay, man?" I asked. He lifted his head and I held my hand out to him. He took it and shakily got up. "Yeah. Yeah, it's all good." I helped him stand fully and he muttered, "Wow, makes you pretty sick to your stomach, don't it?"

"It's worse the longer it's left like that. When Dartz got me, it was for, like… what, about twelve hours? I felt like I was going to puke my _nads_ out." Tristan laughed and massaged his stomach. Mokuba said, "I _did_ throw up, in the plane, remember," irritated. "Yeah," I said.

I looked over and watched Yugi revive Téa, who looked pale and shaky but also excited at how cool the duels had been. I turned my head the other way, expecting to see Kaiba putting Pegasus back into his body, but was somewhat surprised to see that Kaiba was walking away, leaving Pegasus crumpled to the ground.

"Kaiba," Yugi said, noticing this, too. "Aren't you going to put Pegasus back?"

Kaiba looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "Mm, I kind of prefer him this way," he replied lazily, and continued walking into his house. Mokuba chuckled and said, "Big brother… you don't want him to lie here and stink up our yard…"

Wow, these brothers really hated Pegasus. Kaiba frowned and turned around and walked back over to where we were. Once he was only feet in front of us, Mokuba quickly said, "No, no, I didn't suggest that you should put him back… we should tell Hobson to take him somewhere else."

Kaiba laughed and sighed lovingly, "I hope you know how proud I am of you."

Mokuba snickered, but Pegasus' arm twitched.

Everyone stared at him for a moment. Even Kaiba looked confused- he said, "I didn't do anything yet…"

We all crowded around Pegasus' crumpled form. His arm definitely moved again, and there wasn't any wind or anything that would have made that happen… then, his fists downright _clenched_ on the dirt.

Kaiba quickly dropped Pegasus' card onto his back and waved the Millennium Rod. Pegasus shuddered and gasped before pushing himself up. "And that-" he said immediately, clutching at his stomach, "is how you initiate a shadow game… I'm… proud of you kids. You're doing very …well."

"…are you okay?" Yugi asked nervously.

Pegasus rubbed his forehead. "Yes, yes, I'll be fine."

"No, I mean, like- you were weird," I added. "You were like, movin', when you shouldn't'a been…"

Pegasus' eyebrows raised. "Really? That is very strange. Anyway, I think the things that you must learn next are how to …use monsters to enhance each others' abilities. Combos are very effective. Please study on your own terms."

"What next?" Tristan asked slowly, looking around at all of us. "What do we have to do?"

Pegasus frowned for a moment, both holding himself together and thinking. "Now that we know how to fight, I wonder if we should go to Egypt and actually try to destroy what Zorc is starting to build off of… you know, break the tablet again, or melt the Items…" He muttered to himself for a moment. We all waited impatiently and then he said, "I have an idea."

"So… tell us," Mokuba said, raising an eyebrow.

"Let's have a party!" Pegasus said, clapping his hands together.

We all stood in silence for a moment and thought about what he said. A _party…?_

"I just _love_ fancy parties," Pegasus said happily. "I _love_ to see all of you handsome and pretty kids in your formal wear! Everyone always looks so _stylish!"_

I frowned. I thought maybe I had my prom tuxedo still lying around my house somewhere. I hadn't been to a big, fancy party held by a rich megalomaniac since Kaiba's tournament opening, and we didn't even dress up for that… but, "Why have a party?" I asked.

Pegasus said, "Well, it's natural for me to worry about the reputation of my company again because of what's going on, here… do you worry, Kaiba-boy?"

Kaiba frowned but didn't say anything. Pegasus continued, "So, I want to address the media.

It's ten-thirty," he said. "So… hmmm… I'll set everything up for… three days from now. Yes. I have a new island castle that isn't located a very far flight from here. It'll be easy!"

"Isn't that kind of short notice?" Yugi asked, but Pegasus gave a sort of tinkling laugh and proudly announced, "I'm rich! The cameras bend to my will."

He skipped off. Mokuba muttered to us common people, "Yes, that does happen."


	18. Anemone

**_Chapter Eighteen_ **

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

I held my arm out and the seamstress held a measuring tape to it. It was difficult to hold and play a Gameboy while getting measured for a suit.

"Mokuba, are you in here?" Kisara asked, from the door. I didn't- couldn't- turn around, so I just responded, "Yeah, do you need something?"

"Seto is ignoring me," she said plainly, entering the room and standing in front of me. "I am bored. What are you doing?"

"I'm not having any fun," I said lamely. "I'm getting measured so that they can make my new suit for Pegasus' party. I outgrew my other one."

Kisara was looking at me with big eyes. "You both are going to a party hosted by Pegasus?" she asked me, amazed.

"I know, I know," I said. "Yeah, Seto agreed to go to it... he's only really going because there will be media coverage, and that's a good place for him to say that KaibaCorp has nothing to do with any of this monster crap. I'm sure Seto told you about what happened to KaibaCorp after Dartz was running around?"

"Ohh, yes." She nodded approvingly. "That is good! A pre-emptive save!"

...I then got an idea. "Kisara, when you were in Ancient Egypt, did you ever go to any parties?"

"No," she replied simply. "Even when I lived in my room in the palace, I never really left it, much."

"Have you ever worn a pretty dress?"

"Well, I gave myself this little one," she said, twirling quickly in the short little flowy white dress that really didn't do much except emphasize that she was a kind of solid-looking touchable ghost. "And, then, I have this necklace!"

"Do you want to come to this party?" I asked hopefully. Her eyebrows raised. "What do you do at a party?"

"Um... I guess, dance," I said after a moment of thought. This was the best answer in my mind, at least. Kisara laughed _. "Dance_! Really? I doubt that Seto would go to a party where you dance."

"He ...he might if you went," I said, actually somewhat believing my own statement. "It would make it so much less miserable for Seto if you came! And, I think you might like it!"

"I might like to dance?" Kisara asked.

"Probably! You don't get tired, do you?"

"Do not doubt my powers! I am a 3,000-year-old spirit. I do not need to sleep!"

Now I was excited. "Yeah! Okay! Will you come, please? I bet we can find someone who will help you make your hair pretty and help make you a dress!" I leapt off of the stool that I'd been standing on. The seamstress confusedly said, "Master Mokuba, I'm not quite finished with you, yet-"

"Damnit, my right arm is as long as my left arm. I've got important things to do now!" I snapped at her, and I grabbed Kisara's hand and left the mansion with her, mind set on one place that I knew I could find help:

The Kame Game shop was only a few blocks from my house. Kisara and I entered the shop together, and Solomon Mutou looked up from the counter.

"Hello, kids," he said cheerfully, not seeming to notice that Kisara was an awfully glowy-looking kid. "Can I help you with something?"

Kisara was staring, open-mouthed, at all of the games on the shelves, here, but I breathlessly asked, "Is Yugi here? I need to ask him something."

"He and Téa are upstairs," Solomon replied.

I was hoping for that: it was actually Téa that I wanted to see. Solomon shouted, "Yugi? You have a visitor!"

Yugi and Téa appeared at the top of the staircase soon. He began, "Oh, hi, Mokuba-" before getting a look at Kisara- he gasped aloud and shrieked, "...you're... _from Ancient Egypt_! _We saw you!"_

He leapt to the bottom of the stairs and stood near us. "I cannot believe how much you look like the Great Pharaoh," Kisara whispered. "It is very nice to meet you like this."

Each awe-struck with the other, they shook hands. Téa introduced herself to Kisara, too- I explained that the power of the Millennium Rod allows us to summon her from the Blue-Eyes cards whenever we want her company as a person. Then, I asked, "You guys are going to Pegasus' party in a week, right?"

"Yeah," Téa said happily. "I'm excited about it. We don't really get the chance to dress formally very often, but I have a good dress!"

"I'm glad. I was wondering if maybe you could help Kisara get her outfit, too?"

Téa and Yugi exchanged confused glances, and I continued, "I figure Seto'll be in a better mood at the party if Kisara comes too. I kinda was hoping that they could match and that she could get dressed up really pretty."

"I have never dressed up really pretty," Kisara chirped.

"I could help you with your hair," Téa suggested brightly. "I don't really know much about designing dresses, but we could maybe look at a magazine... do you have materials and sewing machines?"

Before I could say that Seto and I had our own personal seamstress, Kisara sang, "I can just make a dress appear! I am a 3,000-year-old spirit. Do not doubt my powers!"

Téa blinked. "Allrighty, then. Come on!"

We all went up to Yugi's bedroom. Yugi and I watched as the girls gathered together, and Téa plucked a magazine out of her backpack. "This has a lot of pretty styles in it. Serenity and I looked through it the other day- Serenity wants to curl her hair, but leave it down..."

"Serenity going with Tristan?" I asked Yugi quietly, as the girls continued flipping through the magazine. Yugi chuckled and admitted, "Yeah." "How does Joey feel about that?" I asked, amused. Yugi shrugged. "I think it's cool. Tristan treats her real well, so I don't see where Joey has any complaining room..."

"I'm going to do this with mine-" Téa pointed to a model who had her hair pinned back into a tight bun.

"I like that picture," Kisara said eagerly. "I have never done that to my hair before."

"I bet it would be really pretty!" Téa said enthusiastically. "Do you like to wear things in your hair? Flowers or clips?"

"I do not know! Are you good at designing dresses, too?" Kisara asked. "I have never worn a gown, before."

"Um... I've never really done it, but I can try. Mokuba, what does Kaiba's suit look like?"

"I can draw it," I offered. "It's kind of hard to explain." In a few seconds I drew a rough sketch of what I knew Seto's tuxedo looked like. "I figure if we get the colors the same, that's kind of all that matters."

Yugi was looking at our pictures confusedly, but I was having a great time. It was a little bit funny that Téa really seemed to enjoy the company of another girl- she spent so much time around really gross boys that having a respectable, clean girl as a new friend was probably refreshing.

… _friend_. I liked that we all had connections to each other now. Maybe the fact that Téa had played an essential role in making Kisara feel welcome would convince Seto that these people were actually pretty cool. You know, as common stupid people go.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

The door to the study clicked open. I set my book down. "Come in," I said.

Mokuba entered. I immediately recognized the look on his face that suggested that he wanted to ask me something difficult. "What do you need?" I asked.

"I was thinking," he muttered, walking slowly to stand near me. "Remember when Joey said that he went into your mind and saw our mom?"

I frowned. "Yes."

"Well," he mumbled, somewhat uncomfortably, "It just reminded me, is all... you're a good artist… I want to see what she looks like. Will you draw a picture of her, for me?"

My lips parted. He was frowning. I did sometimes wonder if he ever thought about our mother. He had never known her, but apparently he at least was curious to know what she was like. I came up with an idea. "Yes," I said, again. "Come here." His eyebrows raised, some, and he sat down on the couch next to me.

"I have a better idea." I leaned forward and lifted the Millennium Rod off of the table in front of us. "What're you going to do…" he began, but stopped when I held out my open hand to him, signaling that I wanted him to take it.

"I'll show you the picture that Wheeler saw," I said. "Come, see into my mind."

He looked confusedly at me. "…Are you sure that's okay? I haven't used the Ring to do something like that before…"

"Don't be nervous," I encouraged him, with a smirk. "Yes, it's okay. Close your eyes."

He took my hand willingly; I pointed the top of the Millennium Rod at my forehead. Mokuba's hand stayed in mine; in an instant, we were both standing in the room that was so very familiar to me.

Mokuba gasped aloud. " _Woah!"_ he gasped, amazed, looking around. "Seto, this is… this is _unbelievable_!" He was eyeing the theme park in front of us; he said, "That's what you want our theme park to look like!"

"I don't spare any details in blueprinting," I chuckled. Then, he noticed the table that contained all of the pictures of our family. We both approached it.

He reached for the picture that featured him and me and laughed. " _This is a baby picture of us?_ This is hilarious! Look at how funny we look!"

"You've always had a lot of hair," I said.

He laughed again and set the picture down, and then picked up the picture of him, me, and our father. He gasped aloud. "Sometimes, I forget what Dad looked like, too… I think of him a lot. I'll strain my memory to try to see him… but, I was too young to really remember. This is him, right? He…" his smile faded sadly, a little bit. "…I look a lot like him."

I put my hand on his shoulder. He set the picture down and shakily reached for the next one; the one that featured our mother holding me as an infant.

"This is her, huh? She's holding you?" he asked quietly. He sighed and looked at the picture, silently, for a little while. I kept my hand on his shoulder; then, he whispered, "Look at her, Seto… she's beautiful, isn't she?"

"I thought so, too," I mused.

"You look like her…" he observed, but then sighed again. "What really happened to her…? Do you know?"

"I was only four and a half when she died," I told him. "Dad didn't tell me much until I asked again when I was eight. I guess he knew that, then, I was smart enough that he could tell me the truth and that I would understand. You were born two weeks early. While she was still pregnant with you, an artery burst in her brain… doctors did an emergency surgery to save you, but they couldn't save her. It happened so quickly, dad said."

He was silent again. Then, he mumbled, "So… it happened because she was pregnant with me?"

"I don't want you to think for a second that it was your fault," I reproached him. He didn't respond for a moment; then, he set the picture down, looked up at me, and nodded. I patted the top of his head and he said, "Thanks for showing me this, Seto. It means a lot to me."

"Are you ready to go?" I asked. "Yeah," he replied, taking my hand.

In a flash, we were both sitting on the couch in my study again. There was then a long, silent moment; he sighed and said, "I know I never really got to know either of them, but sometimes, I wish I could talk to them. I think I actually do miss them."

"Dad was very deep and intelligent," I told him. "I used to love having conversations with him. I think he's the reason that I'm smart. He made you significantly brighter than the average three-year-old, too. He taught us both to read before our second birthdays."

"Yeah," he said. He smiled at me, before quickly frowning, as though he had just remembered something important. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Seto, do you ever have back pain?" he demanded.

 _Huh?_ "Back pain? … I guess, sometimes…?" I replied, thoroughly confused. _What an off-the-topic question…_

His eyebrows shot up. " _Really!_ Did Dad ever have back pain?"

"Dad?" I asked, not knowing where he was going with this. "I… I never asked… he probably did, occasionally, too…?"

He stood up off the couch and shrieked, _"Cool!"_ and ran off, leaving me sitting on the couch, incredibly perplexed.


	19. Freesia

_**Chapter Nineteen** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

It was early in the morning. I was sitting at the breakfast table, eating slowly and rubbing my eyes, still tired. I was alone… kept company only by the Millennium Ring and Rod on the table with me. I liked keeping them with me… sort of liked to monitor them in case something happened again like it did the other night.

I reached for a napkin, and by doing so brushed the Millennium Rod out of the way, but there was then a brief flash of light, and Kisara appeared at the table. "Good morning," I yawned, too tired to be surprised by her sudden appearance. I knew by now that she could appear if anyone who liked her company touched the rod, so, sure, I was happy to have her around.

"Hello!" she said brightly. I was about to greet her too- but I was interrupted by an extremely loud " _AAAAAAAARRGGGGGHHHHH! THAT SON OF A BITCH_!" from on a floor above the one that we were in.

Kisara and I looked skyward… there was silence until the kitchen door slammed open and Seto stormed in. He said nothing to us as he fumingly approached the table where we were… Kisara and I both wanted to say something, but before we could do anything, Seto demanded, "Mokuba, what the hell are you eating?"

"It's oatmeal, Seto…"

"It looks like something that Wheeler would put into a tissue at night," he hissed, before slamming a stack of papers onto the table and shouting, _"He did it again!"_

"Who did something?" Kisara asked worriedly, but I immediately recognized what was going on: we had a business partner in Italy who was completely unreliable. He was pretty much an asshole and was hard to trace and he was known for taking loans out of other business' stock and then not repaying them: KaibaCorp wasn't the only company who didn't like doing business with them.

I snatched the papers off of the table and read that the stock that we shared with that company had plummeted. "Seto!" I gasped, horrified. " _This is going to cost us hundreds of millions of dollars!"_

"Tell me something I don't know, Mokuba- like, perhaps the address of his private house so that I can go there and _disembowel him alive_ -"

"Italian name," Kisara muttered, reading the paper in my hand. "Hmm… actually, I think that I recognize this."

"Wh… you _do_?" Seto asked, shocked; he dropped his infuriated stance for a moment, and I was really confused...

"Yes, I know this family name. For many, many generations they have been involved in illegal drug trades that span most of the hidden routes of Eastern and Southern Europe."

Seto's and my jaws dropped. Kisara continued, "I am surprised that they have never been caught; but, this is where the majority of their wealth comes from."

"I… I…" Seto stammered, and Kisara smiled and said, "All that you would have to do is prove that their income does not come from their sold products; it also would not be a terrible thing to mention that you were in Florence on vacation and happened to see the C.E.O. sneaking into an underground basement at the intersection of Dolce and Lucienda street…"

Seto's eyes narrowed. "Interesting. I'll go investigate this." He turned swiftly on his heel and left the room.

I was left at the kitchen table with Kisara, stunned and mystified- should I feel relieved, knowing that my company's money was maybe going to be saved because we had a plan, or should I be disgusted because now I couldn't help but think that my breakfast looked like Joey's jizz?

Kisara said, "Um… well… he will be in a better mood once he confirms the drug trades."

I swallowed hard. "I kind of have become used to the funny antics that Seto pulls, I guess. I'm okay. I'm glad that we have a lead to stopping him …um, I don't want to eat anymore." I pushed the bowl towards the middle of the table, away from me. "so… what's up?"

"Oh!" she chirped brightly. "I am lonely. Will you play with me?"

This took me completely by surprise. " _Play…_?" I asked. "Uh-huh!" she sang happily. "I have never seen toys like the ones that you have, before. I think that they are great. Will you show me them?"

This nineteen-or-so-year-old girl was beaming, wide-eyed, at me, asking me to show her my games? What should I say? "Seto wanted me to work today…" I began hesitantly, and she frowned, and her giant blue eyes looked so disappointed that even I considered betraying my big brother and I said, "Well… I guess we can play video games for a little while…"

"Can we try the trampoline?" Kisara asked eagerly. Wondering if she could even jump on it, I said, "Yeah, okay, I'll show you that."

I had almost never had so much fun. It was damn _enthralling_ to watch Kisara shriek with glee as I bounced her around and sent her flying. She was so thin and light and …ghostly, I guess, that when I got my jumping timing right, I was able to send her soaring. We both laughed as though we'd never run out of air! ...but, we were then interrupted by a sharp, _"Hey!"_

Seto was in the back yard with us, arms crossed. I had completely lost track of time… how long had I been out here with Kisara? I stopped bouncing but Kisara did not. "Hi, Seto!" she said cheerily.

"Mokuba, you're scheduled to work today!" Seto snapped. "I don't care that it's Sunday- I expect you to work when I ask you to-"

I was ashamed. "I'm sorry, big brother… I'll come now…" I muttered, guilty, and began to walk to the edge of the trampoline.

But Kisara, still bouncing, asked, "What was his job today, Seto?"

Seto looked surprised that she asked. Eyebrows knitted, he said, "I pay him twenty million dollars a year, Kisara, and I don't do it for him to hang out with you- his job today is to revise our contracts with our partners in order to increase competition against a rival company-"

"Which rival?" Kisara asked, stopping bouncing, eyes wide.

"'Kebukai, Manko and Partners', which is another computer-software-designing company that has been butting into my sales. Come, Mokuba-"

"Oh!" Kisara said happily, staring bouncing again. "You should not bother trying to compete with them; the C.E.O. has been having an affair with a minor."

Seto's jaw dropped. " _What?"_ I demanded.

"Uh-huh!" Kisara said. "He has been having an affair with a sixteen-year-old. I mean… he is relatively young, himself, but still, she is only _sixteen_! You should go investigate it and get him busted. He can go to prison for a long time for something like that!" Kisara giggled.

"H…how sure of this are you, Kisara?" Seto stammered.

"There is nothing that I do not know, Seto!" Kisara said blithely, still bouncing around. "Do not doubt my powers!"

Seto's eyes narrowed, and he frowned and turned to go back into the house, apparently completely forgetting about me and what he wanted me to do. Kisara stopped bouncing. I looked towards the house. "Do I… follow him?"

Kisara shook her head. "He will be busy for a little while investigating that and investigating the Italian drug ring, so you do not have to do the job that he wants you to right now! Come, will you show me your video games?"

I gulped. "Um… let me make sure it's okay, first," I told her.

She shrugged and I ran up to Seto's office, where I found him already viciously ticking away at his computer. "Seto?" I asked.

He didn't respond. I stood in the doorway and asked, "Um, do you want me to print the contracts…?"

He said nothing; only kept typing frantically. "Do you want me to do anything today, Seto?"

No response. I frowned. "…Um, say nothing if you don't want me to work."

He was silent and just kept on typing. I smiled. "Okay, then, thanks, Seto!" and left the room. Kisara was standing there in the hallway; I said to her, "Well, he seems to, like, be catatonic or something, so I'll leave him alone. What video game do you want to play?"

"Dance Dance Revolution?" she asked hopefully.

I laughed and said, "yes, alright, come on," and led her to my video game room.

Again, hours went by, and I couldn't _believe_ how much fun Kisara was to be around! Her optimism was _completely_ contagious- every time that she lost pathetically abysmally at Dance Dance Revolution, she would laugh and ask to play again.

After what might have been the fiftieth combat round- she lost again- Kisara said, "I have a request!"

I was hungry. "A request? Follow me, I want to get some lunch. What do you need?"

"I have another idea for a game," she chirped.

We reached the kitchen and I found a leftover salmon fillet. I raised my voice to shout to the cook, who I knew was nearby: "Hey, Weston?"

"Yes, sir?" came the response from on the other side of the pantry doors.

"Will you heat up this fillet for me?"

"Yes, sir," he shouted back. I looked up at Kisara. "Do you want anything?"

"I am an apparition of a spirit who died 3,000 years ago. I do not need to eat," she said happily. I knitted my eyebrows for a moment and then said, "Thanks, Weston." We went to the dining room to wait for my food. "So, what game do you want to play?" I asked Kisara.

"Will you have a staring contest with me?" she asked giddily.

"Staring contest," I repeated.

"Yes!"

I frowned. "Alright, then," I shrugged. She sat in the chair next to me, eyes huge, and stared at me pointedly.

I stared back at her. The room was utterly silent as she looked intensely at me and I looked intensely at her. Finally my eyes started watering and itching and I had to blink-

"Curses," I admitted defeat. "You're good at that."

"I fooled you!" Kisara shrieked with laughter. "I am an apparition of a spirit who died 3,000 years ago. I do not need to blink!"

"Oh, that's mean," I chuckled.

Suddenly the door burst violently open. Kisara and I leapt out of our chairs and turned around and saw Seto standing in the doorway... but, he definitely didn't look the way that I expected him to. He certainly didn't look angry… in fact, he looked _frantic_! His hair was messed up as though he had run his hand through it a hundred million times and his eyes were wide and sparkling and he was completely out-of-breath. Papers were crunched in his hand tightly.

He flew into the room and thrust the papers into my hand and practically _shrieked,_ "Kisara, everything that you've said is _right!_ Every _bit_ of it! I can't _believe_ it! Almost immediately after I sent in the tip, the police actually caught him _red-handed_ with the girl! _He's in custody_! And the Italian guy? _Entire drug stock confiscated!_ He's going to _jail_ and it's only been _hours_ and yet still _already_ his company's stock is _plummeting!_ "

" _Seto, that's amazing!"_ I gasped, heart racing with excitement, as I looked over the papers and verified that this was, indeed, true- but before I could look through too many of them, I was distracted horribly by the realization that Seto had positively _leapt_ on Kisara and was extraordinarily passionately kissing her.

"Um… Seto…" I muttered, stomach bubbling sickeningly, but he completely ignored me. Kisara looked kind of scared as he pinned her between himself and the dining room table. After several minutes of this (I had to turn to face the wall after a little while), he breathlessly muttered, "oh, the things that I would _do_ to you if you hadn't died thousands of years ago," before snatching the papers out of my hand and running out of the room again, slamming the door behind him as he left.

I slowly turned on the spot and faced Kisara again, who was looking extremely flustered and awkward. I was sick to my stomach and again didn't particularly know how to feel: should I be happy about the money that our company is going to make- and save!- now, or should I be horrified because I just saw my brother make sexual propositions to his girlfriend, or…

Kisara chuckled shakily. "I am very sorry that you had to see that, Mokuba… I had forgotten that he can be very reactive sometimes…"

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

Today was Monday, July 6th, and it _was going to be a good day_. The weather was beautiful: it was unusually cool and breezy for a summer day. The sky was blue and cloudless and pristine. I was also particularly in a good mood because I finally had it: the ultimate comeback to anything that stupid asshole Seto Kaiba would throw at me. No matter what he said, I knew what I'd respond with.

Tristan walked up and caught me looking so smug. "What's up with you?" he asked me.

"Kaiba ain't never going to insult me again," I said, prodding a finger into the middle of my chest. "I got the best comeback. He's got _nothin'_ on me now."

Tristan's eyebrows raised. "Really?" he asked. "I kinda doubt that, Joey…"

"No way," I said. "No matter what he says, I'm gonna get him. He can call me whatever he wants: he can call me stupid or useless or animal-like or whatever he wants to- I'm gonna get him. I'm gonna say, ' _Oh yeah? Well at least I'm not a damn asshole!_ '"

Tristan's eyes bulged. "That's it," he asked.

"Yup," I said, leaning back on the wall, very satisfied with myself. Kaiba was going _down._

Tristan looked, bug-eyed, at me for a moment before he asked, "Dude, I'm serious, do you realize how stupid you actually are? I mean, I mean this all in good spirit, you know, but you are really, honestly, truly an idiot-"

"Say what you want, jerkwad, I know what I'm doin'!" I retorted.

It wasn't long before I saw Kaiba's limo pull up to the front gates of the school and saw him get out. Earbuds were in his ears- there was obviously a CD player in the bag that was slung across his shoulder. I ran up to him, simply _raring_ to provoke him. He had _no idea_ what was coming. " _Kaiba!"_ I shouted.

He looked right at me and took one earbud out of his ear. I knew it. Here it comes. He was going to call me stupid or trashy or-

"Do you need something, Wheeler? I'm listening to my music, now."

I stopped dead in my tracks. His voice wasn't condescending in the _slightest._ He kept looking right at me, eyes wide in curiosity, holding the earbud that wasn't lodged into his ear. "Yes?" he asked, in response to my silence after a moment.

" _What?_ " I demanded, pissed off. "What do you _mean,_ do I _need something_? Aren't you-"

His eyebrows knitted and he stuck the earbud back into his ear. "Don't try so hard, Wheeler. It's a nice day; see?" He looked up, corners of his mouth curled upwards. I was _disgusted_ by how the bright color of his eyes matched the color of the sky. "Take it easy, Wheeler," he said, passing by me, clapping me on the shoulder as he walked.

I stood, rooted, dumbfounded. …what? _What_? No _way!_ _He was in a good mood_! He had been _smiling_! He _hadn't insulted me!_

Tristan came up to me. "Did you hand it to him?" he asked curiously.

"N…no!" I stammered.

Tristan laughed, obviously assuming that Kaiba had come up with a new slur that not even I could counter. "Better luck next time, dude," he said.

I followed Tristan into the school's front doors, feeling strangely lonely… feeling like a part of me had… _died._

I set my tray of food down on the table next to Bakura and Yugi at the lunch table hours later. Our school's cafeteria was big- I scanned the crowds for Duke and Tristan and Téa, who I knew were all in here somewhere, and I wanted to show them where we were sitting. I didn't see them immediately, but I did see something that gave me an idea: Kaiba, standing by the opposite wall, intently watching the television set that was rooted at the corner where the wall met the ceiling. He looked busy! Maybe now if I were to interrupt by being irritating him he'd insult me and then I'd get my chance to _annihilate_ him!

"Be right back," I excitedly told Bakura and Yugi. I leapt out of my chair and ran up to Kaiba's back. "'Ey, Kaiba!" I shouted, hoping to be as annoying as possible.

He ignored me at first. This only somewhat surprised me. _"Kaiba!"_ I said again, sneering.

He again ignored me. Yes, this was normal behavior from him, but I wasn't in the mood for that now. I groaned and walked around him to bother him to his face but was thunderstruck when I saw him from the front: he was smiling, eyes wet with _tears_ , as he watched the television…!

" _Dude, what the hell is wrong with you_?" I demanded. He finally lowered his head to look away from the television and, smile not fading at all, he said, "Look!"

We both looked back up at the television set. There was some news headline about some major C.E.O. getting busted for something. What was so great about this? I read a headline aloud: "'KM+P President charged with statutory rape; could face up to ten years in prison.' Who cares?"

Kaiba didn't look at me. He only whimpered, "It's the most wonderful thing that I have ever seen, Wheeler," before wiping his eyes and sighing happily. Then, he clapped me on the back again and walked away.

" _NO, YOU SON OF A BITCH_!" I shouted at his retreating back. " _GET THE HELL BACK HERE!_ "

…he was ignoring me again. Un-effing-believable. I saw Duke approach me from the side. He looked at me for a moment then looked at Kaiba and said, "Joey… I'm serious, man, let it go. You'll never beat him."

"Absolutely not," I said. I crossed my arms. "Joey Wheeler never gives up. If it's the last thing that I say to that man, I'm going'ta give him my prime insult, and I'm going'ta watch his stupid asshole face as he realizes that he has absolutely nothin' to say to it because it owned him so hard."

Duke sighed. "We worry about you sometimes. Like, completely seriously, we worry about you."


	20. An Aphid in the Bouquet

_**Chapter Twenty** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

At 5:30p sharp, Seto was waiting impatiently by the front door. "Come on, Mokuba; it's a long flight," he commanded.

I frowned back up at the double-doors at the top of our staircase. I'd definitely seen her this afternoon so I knew that it wasn't that nobody'd wished her out of the card… Did Kisara decide that she didn't want to come to the party, or that she would attract too much attention...? I pleaded with her, in my mind, to show up...

"Mokuba!" Seto snapped again.

I sighed and walked towards him. I guess Kisara could, like, fly to Pegasus' party if she wanted to. I was disappointed by that, too, though… traveling in style in the helicopter was part of the experience that I wanted her to have… "What are you waiting for? Did you forget something?" Seto continued, obviously ruffled.

"Um... I guess not," I sighed, in defeat. The butlers held the doors open for us and Seto's foot was halfway out the door before I heard Kisara shriek, _"Wait!"_ from the top of the staircase. My heart leapt- "Kisara, really, there's-" Seto began angrily, but he couldn't finish the sentence once he turned around.

Kisara was standing at the top of the staircase, staring with huge worried eyes down at us. She was ...stunningly, _unbelievably_ beautiful. Her hair had been drawn up into several buns on the top of her head, pinned together by a lily that matched the one fastened to Seto's lapel. Jewels hung from her ears and lied lightly around her wrists.

The dress that we had designed couldn't have accentuated her better- the body of it was the color of Seto's tuxedo and the trimmings that flowed off of the sides was the same light-blue that lined the edges of Seto's jacket and pants. Fantastic! I loved it. Every single thing was just so perfect.

I was beaming at her as she walked down the stairs towards us, cheerfully saying, "I am sorry if I am late!" Her grace was just incredible- she glided over to us and happily kissed Seto on the cheek.

She and I were both were amused by how it was extremely obvious that he was not breathing. He was staring, lips parted, at Kisara- finally, he inhaled somewhat sharply and whimpered, "Kisara... I..." he swallowed and smiled and said, "Unbelievable. I thought that it wasn't possible for you to be any more beautiful."

As we walked to the helicopter (Kisara in the lead, eager to ride in a helicopter), Seto looked down at me and quietly asked, "Was it your idea that she come to the party?"

I nodded and beamed up at him. He kissed the top of my head and we all climbed into the helicopter, bound for Pegasus' island.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

Téa, Yugi, Tristan, Serenity and I stood in front of Pegasus' castle in the private Duelist Kingdom island at 8:00p that night. It was actually really cool- Pegasus had sent a private jet to come pick us up and bring us here. The flight had been a few hours, but it didn't affect our moods.

I was feeling confident and strong. Everyone looked _good_. Téa and Serenity were beautiful in their long ball gowns- Téa's was slinky; a velvet, deep blue with sparkling gold jewels sewn into it all over; Serenity's was shimmering and silver with a lot of rhinestones stuck to the bodice of it. Tristan matched her completely, much to my dismay- his collared tuxedo was completely made of the same satin gray stuff. He had a silver pocketwatch's chain hanging out of his pocket. Yugi matched Téa in the same way that Tristan matched Serenity- tuxedo made completely out of the same material and color. He was the only one out of us who was wearing a cummerbund. Cuff links shined gold on the edges of his wrists and ankles.

And, me- I looked _good._ I was wearing all-black, with the edges of the jacket and pants trimmed in a forest green. My shirt, too, was black- tie, green. I also had matching silk green gloves. I flipped the long tails of my coat. _Yeahhhh._

"Cool," Tristan said, running a hand through his hair. He had gelled and slicked it back; he looked extremely different without the large spike on the top of his head. He (and Yugi, I guess,) was the only one whose hair was staying in place; it was very windy out here, by the ocean. Téa had put her hair into a low bun, but it was starting to fall, from the wind. "This'll be awesome."

Of course we had brought all of our Millennium Items. I knew that Tristan was wearing the Key under his shirt. Yugi looked silly with the Millennium Puzzle hanging from his neck while in a suit, but Téa had been clever: the Tauk was wrapped around her hair bun. The Scales were tough to carry around- I had stowed them in a black leather briefcase and was carrying them with me that way.

The sound of a helicopter was on the horizon. Kaiba. I was surprised he was even coming, after all of the funny antics that Pegasus had pulled lately. Yugi looked up at the sky, noticing the noise, too. "Hey, look, it's Kaiba's chopper," he said, pointing upwards.

We all waited as the helicopter landed a few yards away from us. The door to the aircraft slid open and Kaiba and Mokuba jumped out. I frowned. Of course they were decked in the finest outfits that their enormous amounts of money could buy. Their tuxedos matched- both pearl-colored, both had colored trimming around the edges of their jackets and pants, with single stripes going down their arms and legs- Kaiba's was a sky-blue, Mokuba's, a dusty purple. Large lilies that matched their individual color schemes were pinned to the left sides of their chests, and long capes hung to their ankles, suspended by golden buttons on their shoulders. They both looked… well, very, very wealthy. Douchebaggy, maybe.

Kaiba approached us. A girl who matched him, and Mokuba, were following him. "Good evening, dolts," he said carelessly. Mokuba adjusted his purple bow tie… I noticed enormous diamond rings on each of his hands. It was now, now that they were standing immediately side-to-side, that I realized how tall that Mokuba was getting- Kaiba was now only a head and a half taller than he was, which was really saying something. "Let's go," Kaiba continued. "I'm sure that Pegasus would be annoyed if we kept him waiting to torture us any longer."

The brothers and the girl walked past our group. We followed them into the building. I gasped aloud upon seeing the inside of the building. Everything was decorated lavishly. Statues of Toon monsters were spread out, everywhere. It was kind of cheesy-looking, but also kind of cool… in the center of the room, there was a large fountain, and dinner tables were set up near the walls. Near the fountain there appeared to be a kind of dance floor. An orchestra was playing classical music on a balcony.

"Pegasus sure knows his interior decorating, doesn't he," Tristan muttered, looking around, like I was. "Yeah," I said. It was kind of hilarious. I could see that all of the plates and cups and crap were big goblets and had big jewels on them and were red and sparkly and stupid-looking. If they weren't obviously made of porcelain and glass and stuff I'd have felt like we were going to be served on plastic kiddie plates.

We were then greeted by a beaming, black-eyed Pegasus. I had to suppress a laugh… he had taken off all of his bandages, and it appeared that he had tried to cover up his facial wounds with makeup. Like, actual _makeup_ … wow. There was a sort of powder foundation that attempted to hide his bruised nose and the three-inch-long laceration on his right cheek. I'd consider pitying him if he wasn't so creepy already. Who gave him makeup? Did he actually have a fashion designer who did his makeup? I wondered how often he actually wore makeup. He'd probably look okay with a coral-colored lipstick or something. …I had to remember to go watch a lot of porn later to make up for the fact that I knew what coral lipstick looked like.

"Good evening, kids!" he said, jovially. He was completely at-home with all of these people, like this. "You never cease to amaze me with how good you all look! Make yourselves at home. I'll start my speeches in a little while. I'm sure you'll know some of the other guests."

I actually didn't particularly like the sound of that… my instincts were proved correct when Pegasus looked over our shoulders and chirped, "Zieg-boy!"

I turned around and saw good ol' Ziegfried von Schroder walking through the door. I had never seen anyone look quite so flamboyant. He was wearing a large fur coat (in July?) with pink trimming and had pulled his long, freaky pink hair forward over his shoulders, and he had this really hilarious-looking feathery weird hat thing on his head. He was smiling widely at everyone. He said, "Ah, Pegasus!" happily.

The men greeted each other with giant, cheery hugs. Then, Ziegfried offered to shake Kaiba's hand (he declined angrily and excused himself. Mokuba followed him) and then turned to me, frowned, and said, "Vhat is a duelist of your caliber doing at a party like zis? I didn't expect Herr Pegasus to be so lenient with ze guest list, much less letting you control a Millennium Item!"

He chuckled darkly and walked away, content with torturing me and not greeting Yugi or anyone else who was with me. Furious, I turned to Tristan and asked him if he happened to have a piece of paper with him- Téa overheard me ask this, and said, "I have a notepad in my purse."

"Let me borrow it," I seethed. She handed me a small notepad and a pen. I flipped to the first blank piece of paper and scribbled a message on it, tore it out of the notebook, took the piece of gum out of my mouth and stuck the paper to it. Then, I said, "Ziegfried! Wait up!"

He turned around lazily and said, "Joseph, I am sick of seeing you. Vhat do you want," carelessly.

I approached him cheerily. "Look," I said. "I think we got off to a bad start the other day and… well, back at Kaiba's tournament." I patted him squarely on the back. "I just want'ta say it's good to see you again."

He frowned and said, "You vaste your time, Joseph," and turned away. But, this was fine. I had to say that a sign that read "I take it up the ass" complimented his furry coat quite nicely.

Later, it was almost dinnertime. People were still standing around, and Tristan and I were roaming the ballroom, checking out everything (and in my case, everybody). "What's that," Tristan asked and pointed down.

A little white wrapped thing was on the ground. I'd never seen that before. It almost looked like candy but it had no logo or anything. "I don't know, dude," I replied. "Can we eat it?"

"It's on the ground, I don't want to eat it," Tristan muttered.

"Yeah," I said. He and I just stood over it for a while, staring at it. Was it a toy? Like, a fast-food action figure? Who dropped it?

"What are you guys looking at?" the white-haired girl who came with Kaiba asked. She looked down at what we were looking down at. "I have never seen that before," she whispered.

"Yeah, we don't know what it is either," Tristan said. "Maybe it's candy."

"People like candy," the girl said and nodded. "Then, this thing must be good."

I shrugged. "Kisara? Kisara, what are you doing over here-" Kaiba asked, coming up from behind us, too- he looked at me and Tristan and asked, "why do you all look so much stupider and more clueless than usual?"

"Seto, we do not know what this thing is," the girl told him, excited. "Do you know what this thing is?"

Kaiba looked down at the ground, his eyes widened, and then he looked back at us and frowned. " _Really,"_ he growled. "You are all captivated by this?" Téa walked over too, before I had time to ask Kaiba what it is- Téa sighed hopelessly and said, "Joey and Tristan… sometimes, a woman experiences a cycle which regards cleaning herself up and preventing spills-"

Horror washed over me. _Really?_ This was a _tampon?_ _Sick, dude!_ Tristan and I gasped aloud and shrieked in disgust, and the white-haired girl began, "I do not understand, how do you use-" but Kaiba dragged her away. Téa sighed. "Leave it alone, guys. It's not gross. It's not used or anything."

Tristan's eyes got huge. _"No._ No, no, no, I got a great idea," he gasped. "I don't care that it's not used, it's hilarious. Hold on. Joey- I'm gonna use the Millennium Key to take off the wrapper and put it in Ziegfried's hairpiece thing."

I stuffed my fist into my mouth and bent over from uncontrollable laughter- I wiped tears out of my eyes and gasped, "oh my gosh do it, oh my gosh do it-"

"Okay help me guide it," Tristan whispered. "We gotta make this seem low-key."

Téa rolled her eyes and said, "No, I'm not even going to be a part of this. No, I'm walking away."

"Okay bye," I told her. "Okay so lift it up…" Tristan pulled the Key out from under his buttoned jacket and then pointed it at the tampon. He twisted the Key and the wrapper peeled off. Then he slowly levitated the unwrapped tampon about two feet into the air.

"Okay keep it about here," I told him. "There's enough people that we can probably keep it hidden if we keep it at this level."

"Yeah that's good," Tristan muttered. "Okay, now, let's walk together so it can be between us and hide."

"Yeah okay," I said approvingly. I was shaking with freaking uncontrollable laughter. This was so hilarious. This was one of the best luckiest pranks we'd ever played. Tristan and I were geniuses. Absolutely. We walked casually near where Ziegfried was standing- luckily he was near a huge group of people.

"Okay careful…" Tristan muttered, tilting the Key upwards- the tampon flew up to my shoulder-level. "Are you blocking it from view?" he asked me.

"Yeah I got this," I muttered, shifting so that my shoulder hid it from Ziegfried. "Okay, ready to land it on his hat thing?"

"Ready."

It was noisy over here. I raised my arm and yelled, " _Hey, Yugi! Yugi, where'd you go_?" Tristan made the tampon fling, hidden behind my arm, and land securely on Ziegfried's hairpiece. He didn't even flinch. He totally didn't notice. Yugi looked over his shoulder at me from about twenty feet away. "What, Joey?"

Forcing myself not to laugh, forcing myself not to laugh, forcing myself not to laugh, I responded, "Oh nothing, forget about it," and Tristan and I shuffled away out of the front doors and once we were out the front doors we burst into the biggest laughing fit we'd ever had- keeled over, leaning on each other for support because we were just absolutely dying- Ziegfried was walking around with a tampon in his hair and a sign on his back- it was the funniest shit I'd ever seen, the absolute funniest shit I'd ever seen-

"Oh my gosh, Joey, I mean it," Tristan cried, rubbing his eyes. "We are so awesome. We _define_ awesome."

"We _are_ the _definition_ of awesome." I agreed with him, slapping him on the back. "Come on, I'm hungry after all'a that awesome."

It was dinnertime, fortunately- everyone was getting served. We sat at one of the long tables with Kaiba and Mokuba (the very-well-adorned Ziegfried was at another nearby table). Sitting between Téa and Tristan, I noticed that several girls at a nearby table were staring at Kaiba and giggling; I could hear them going on about how striking he looked, and how they thought that the girl sitting next to Kaiba wasn't that pretty. I frowned. Either he couldn't hear them, or he was completely ignoring them. Was he _used_ to this sort of attention? They were all pretty girls. How come Kaiba always got the crushes? Yeah, maybe he was handsome… but, he was a handsome _douchebag_.

I lowered my voice so that Kaiba couldn't hear me speak. Mokuba, Yugi and Téa were sitting between us, so I knew that he was far enough away that I could diss him behind his back. "What does Kaiba got that I don't," I muttered grumpily to Tristan, still looking over my shoulder at the girls.

"About a hundred trillion dollars," he replied, immediately, halfway through a bite of steak. Téa snorted into her water glass; Serenity, on the other side of Tristan, giggled. Tristan wiped his mouth with his napkin and then said, "We've already discussed his giant schlong, too, you know."

I snorted and jammed part of a baked potato into my mouth and chewed on it angrily. _My_ schlong was big, too, damnit…! Even my dad knew that I could stick it in my ass!

Mokuba's little girlfriend skipped up to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which made his face go spectacularly red. The girl had good timing- as soon as she properly greeted Mokuba, livelier music suddenly started to play. Téa got up. "Can we dance, Yugi? I'd love to dance!"

Yugi sheepishly got up, and so did Mokuba and his date as well as Tristan and Serenity. Lots of people were getting up to go dance- now would be a great time for me to find a date, too!

I started scouring the room for potential pretty girls that weren't flirting with Kaiba. But, then I noticed something that distracted me even from that: Pegasus.

He was sitting at a table, alone. He was leaning his head forward in his hands, but I could still see his face… his good eye was kind of blurry and blank. His mouth was just slightly open. I watched him slyly for a minute or two. He never blinked.

Startled, I went over to him. "Yo, Pegasus…" I began.

He did nothing. He only continued staring forward, completely lifelessly. I waved my hand in front of his face. "Pegasus," I said, slightly louder.

Still, he did nothing. Now I was scared. Was he having a stroke? Seizure? I put my thumb on his wrist- he didn't react at all to my touch. I could feel his pulse. It was kind of slow, but… but, steady, which was strange… what the hell was wrong with him?

I had to go tell someone. If this was Millennium- Item related, then I had to tell Yugi or something…

At least Yugi was easy to spot in a crowd. I ran up to him on the dance floor. "Yugi," I said, having to shout to be heard over the music and lively chatter.

"What," he replied loudly, from being tangled around Téa. "Can it wait, Joey? I'm kind of busy…"

"No, dude- Pegasus is-"

A new song started playing: I soon recognized that it was the opening chords for "Fun." Téa shrieked, " _Oh, I love this song_!" and dragged Yugi closer to the speakers. Yugi shouted, "Talk to me about it later, Joey!" as he left.

Crap. Okay, so I had to find Tristan now. At least he was easy to find, too, because his suit was silver and caught even the low light really well. I found him on the other side of the dance floor… and watched him leap on the little stage that the speakers were set up on, and grab the microphone and immediately start singing "Fun" as loud as he could.

 _Damn._ I ran up to the stage and tugged at Tristan's pant leg. "Tristan, can I talk to you-" I began, but Tristan kicked my hand out of the way and didn't stop singing. Serenity stood next to me and giggled, "It's okay, Joey. He's treating me well on our date! Don't worry."

"No, but- that's not what I'm tryin' to-" I began, but Serenity patted my back and continued, "Please don't yell at him. Really! I'm having a good time dancing here."

" _It's important_!" I shrieked, tugging on his ankle again. " _Pegasus!_ Pegasus is-"

Tristan bent down and grabbed Serenity's hand and literally pulled her, as she laughed and laughed, up on the stage, and he kept singing loudly into the microphone, pinning her to his hip, " _Come and visit me one-on-one! We'll have fun when the day is done!"_

This wasn't going to work. I swore under my breath, but then saw Kaiba at the fondue table, stabbing pieces of steak and broccoli with a skewer. The girl who had come with him wasn't near him. He didn't look too busy to listen to me. I approached him and said, "'Ey, Kaiba-"

"Wheeler, did you know that, in medieval England, people with your intelligence levels were usually stoned to death?" he asked, not even turning around, voice an annoyed monotone.

"Yeah, yeah, funny," I said quickly. "Somethin's wrong-"

"They wouldn't even consider giving you a trial, Wheeler-"

" _Look at Pegasus!"_

He sighed and set down the plate and looked over his shoulder. "What is he doing," he asked lazily.

"I mean… _look_ at him! Don't you think he looks weird?" Was I going crazy, or was I the only one who noticed that Pegasus's good eye was twitching and that he had some kind of shadow over his face…? Look at him- he was leaning his chin on his folded hands at his own fancy party. Why wouldn't he be up, dancing with his friends, or something? He was catatonic or something!

Kaiba studied him for a moment. At least it looked like he noticed something. "What, you think he's gone crazy? Use your Item on him, if you're worried," he said, turning back towards the table and stabbing more broccolis. I thought about that for a moment. Using my Item wasn't a bad idea at all… that way I could tell if Pegasus was just zoned out, or was having a stroke, or was being possessed…

Ziegfried then walked past us. I stuffed my fist into my mouth again to stop from busting into laughter- the sign was still stuck to his back, and the tampon was still on his hat, and _nobody had told him about it_! Kaiba lazily looked up when I snickered. When he saw the sign on Ziegfried's back, his eyes widened and he looked at me, lips parted in surprise.

"Looks good on him, don't it," I asked, proud of myself.

"You did that?" Kaiba asked.

"Sure did. Stupid asshole deserves it."

Kaiba looked at Ziegfried again and narrowed his eyes again, and quietly asked, "Is there a _tampon_ on his hat…?" amazed.

"Yeah! Tristan and me put it there. Ziegfried's such a son of a bitch butt hole that we figured he'd had it comin' for a long time."

To my enormous shock, Kaiba _laughed. "_ Good one. I respect that," he said.

"You _do_?" I asked, amazed.

"Sure," he said, turning back towards the table and drizzling melted cheese over his broccolis. "I hate him more than I hate you. Take it as a compliment. Actually, though, if I might be so bold as to correct you, I've heard through the C.E.O.- gossip chain that it's actually Ziegfried's _boyfriend_ who takes it up the ass…"

" _No way! Seriously?"_ I gasped, only truly somewhat surprised… I had to be sure to go laugh about this with Tristan immediately…

Kaiba looked over his shoulder at me and gave me a look that beamed a message into my head- _"…duh, you brainless idiot,"_ and I realized that he had been kidding.

"Wait, was that a _joke_?" I asked, now _completely_ surprised. He turned around to face me and his eyes widened and sparkled. "Good, Wheeler! I'll have one of my associates get you a biscuit as a reward!"

I was _floored._ I stammered, "You- but, what- _you did it again_! You made a _joke!_ "

He narrowed his eyes and frowned at me. "No, I'm bein' serious!" I continued. "You're… _funny!_ I didn't know you were funny! You just made a _joke!"_ I gasped.

"Perhaps you haven't noticed, but I'm exceptionally intelligent. I can be motivated by people whom I detest to invent insults that are comical."

"Kaiba actually has _a sense of humor_ … you learn somethin' new every day," I muttered, still amazed. Now, he looked surprised too- he said, " _You_ learn things? _Nuh-uh_." Then he turned back to the fondue table. I stood there in silence for a moment before saying "Hey! That was another joke!"

"That one wasn't, really. Go _away_ , Wheeler," he said, annoyed.

I returned to the table and started rooting around for the Millennium Scales. Kaiba sat down at the table next to me while I dug through my bag. The white-haired girl floated over to him. She asked, excitedly, "What are those people doing?"

Kaiba and I both looked over our shoulders at a group of people that were standing behind us. They were dancing. Breakdancing, swinging their hips to the music that Tristan was making (he was now singing his third-or-so karaoke track)...

Kaiba said, softly and gently, "In the modern day, we call those people idiots."

"Idiot," the girl repeated, "I do not know the word 'idiot.'"

"Those people are idiots. You can tell, because they're dancing like that. People like that, you're supposed to feel sorry for."

"Oh," the girl muttered sadly. "I am sorry."

"Yes, it's truly a tragedy. Wheeler, here, understands firsthand what it's like to be an idiot. Don't you, Wheeler?"

"Yeah," I said, watching those people dance, amused. They really weren't very good.

"But, they look happy," the girl continued, scratching her head.

"That's the way of the idiot. They're always happy."

"Then, is it bad to be an idiot?"

Kaiba blinked. Even I was surprised at how there wasn't really a good answer to that question. Kaiba said, "Yes, because you end up looking like that."

"Can I be an idiot?" the girl laughed. "How do you become an idiot?"

"You... you dance like one," Kaiba stammered.

"Will you dance like an idiot with me?" the girl asked. She sounded extremely eager. Kaiba's eyes bulged, and I laughed. "You know how to be a idiot!" the girl said happily, turning to me. "Will you teach us, Wheeler?"

"Kisara, please," Kaiba groaned, annoyed. "I don't want to dance. Let me eat."

"Okay," the girl said. Her spirit was not dampened. "Does Mokuba know how to dance like an idiot? I want to go find him."

She skipped off. Kaiba sat down at the table and then looked down at the Scales in my hand. "Is something happening?" he asked, though it was clear that he didn't really care, before sticking a cheesy broccoli floret into his mouth and chewing on it.

The scales weren't doing anything. I frowned, then worriedly said, "Then… well, Pegasus must be, like, havin' a stroke or somethin'!"

Kaiba just looked up at me, mouth full. He didn't say anything, but I read the message in his eyes: "I don't give a _quarter_ of a damn."

I groaned. "If we don't help him, then this party will go awry and you'll have to spend your own time and your own money havin' a press conference to tell the world that your company is innocent."

Kaiba swallowed his broccoli and sighed. "I have better things to do. _You_ help him, if you think he's dying."

"I am, but-" I began, but then felt completely cold- like, a wave of freezing wind had mysteriously washed over the entire room. Confused, I looked around. The people who were sitting at tables were starting to hold their shoulders. Kaiba said "What the-" next to me. I looked down at him and saw that he was looking at his water glass. I was surprised to just watch the water freeze in the glass, in front of my eyes.

My breath was rising in front of me. Why… it was July. It wasn't supposed to be cold…

Many of the lights blinked off and the music stopped playing. People groaned from the dance floor. It was dim in the room. People were looking around confusedly.

Then I felt something shift in my hand. The Millennium Scale tilted with a loud "thunk" and was at the most possible askew angle that it could be at. _Shit._ Something terribly evil was in the room, and…

Pegasus leapt out of his chair, overturning his table and sending glasses and plates crashing. Now, people were noticing that something was terribly wrong- people on the dance floor and at nearby tables started shrieking.

With a great crash, Pegasus sent the table soaring- people near him screamed, and from the tip of his finger a shining red light erupted and shot straight for the stage-

 _"Tristan!"_ I shrieked- he fell backwards, fell right onto his equipment- _he'd been hit, he'd been hit-_

And that was when Pegasus looked right into my eyes- and I could _feel_ that he was completely taken over- that he wasn't Pegasus, that he was …something else. That he was a something else that had every intention of harming everyone here-

I knew that seconds were going by- only seconds, but it felt like time had stopped- I couldn't stop looking into his eyes- and then a sort of wind built at my feet and burst around me, and it was suffocating me-

There was a cloud, a cork in my throat- and the world went black.


	21. Pine

_**Chapter Twenty-One** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

… _where was I._

It was completely silent and …still. No breeze, or anything… no sounds.

My mind was foggy. I couldn't grip a solid thought for a while. I tried to process where I was… sleeping, but…

I gulped and forced my eyes open. It was… dark. I could barely see very much. There was a kind of low candlelight…

I groaned and closed my eyes. My head was aching. I pressed my hand to my forehead. It was… kind of warm in here. The air was heavy and stale. My other hand was still gripped around the Millennium Scale.

Then I realized something: _where the hell was I!_ How did I _get_ here…? Was I kidnapped, or…? But, I was alone… nobody else was in here…

I forced my stinging eyes open again and pushed myself sitting. It looked like… a temple, or … or tomb, or…

Wait, no. We'd been here. …this was… the temple that Atem had first seen Zorc in. _Kul Elna._ Zorc had been resurrected here. We'd had the last battle with Atem here.

" _How the hell…!"_ I gasped, _completely_ confused… I stood up and looked around. Yes, that's where I was… I looked down at myself. I was still dressed in my formal suit.

I looked around the room that I was in, a little bit. With a rush I realized that I was not alone: the white-haired girl was sitting here, not far from me. I rubbed my head and looked over at her. "You're-" I began, but she looked over her shoulder and exclaimed, "Wheeler! I am glad to see that you are okay."

I shakily stood up and saw that Kaiba was lying in her lap. His eyes were closed, and the girl had the back of her hand pressed to his forehead.

"What happened to us," I asked.

Kaiba coughed at that moment. I knelt down next to him and the girl. He was disoriented. He muttered, "I'm… on the ground… what happened…?"

Kisara gently set him down, and he pushed himself sitting, and then he stood up, leaning heavily on Kisara's shoulder. "Thank you," he muttered, able to stand by himself.

"Pegasus is drunk with the power of the Millennium Eye," Kisara began slowly. "I think that he is being controlled by Zorc."

I swallowed. Kisara continued, "I think that Zorc has made him a minion, and has a decent hold on Pegasus' mind… he wants the items brought back together in the stone. That is how Zorc can be released. Pegasus tried to kill you all tonight; he tried to get the items from you..."

"You stopped him?" I gasped, and she nodded. "I recognize that power. I know it very well."

I swallowed hard again. "Thanks," I said, unable to believe it. "Where did you bring us?"

"Well... I have an idea, and I think that we must do it... I think that we _should_ resurrect Zorc."

Kaiba's eyes widened, and she said, "It would be in a controlled environment. We could summon him, and then, we could be here to fight him. Fortunately, Pegasus was able to escape Zorc's control enough that he knew what was going on, and was able to train you all for a potential defense. Right?"

"Yeah," I said hesitantly.

"Then, let us make our way through the temple, back up to the chamber that holds the tablet. Pegasus' men have strung up lights... we should be able to see," Kisara said. "I brought everyone else here, too. They're all somewhere, and we'll find them…"

"Everyone else? Who is everyone else?" I asked, and she replied, "Everyone who held a Millennium Item. I am sorry that we are all a bit scattered. Only the people who were standing near each other at the party are together- but, we can find everyone. They are all alive."

"Thank you," Kaiba muttered. "I trust your decisions, but I will need your strength."

"Of course," she said happily. She disappeared with a burst of light. I shielded my eyes for a second, and then saw that the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card in Kaiba's hand had shone for a moment. He put the card back into his jacket pocket.

"So… you have the Millennium Rod with you, right…?" I asked. He frowned, and said, "Come on."

I was looking around at everything that we passed. There were stone end tables here and there that had jars and statues on them. I was kind of fascinated. There were even more stone slabs that had monsters in them… were these monsters supposed to guard Atem? Maybe… there were tons of them. I recognized most of them.

We reached a kind of fork in the hallway. Both branches were lit by candles. I groaned. "Which way now?" I asked.

Kaiba frowned over his shoulder at me and started walking off to the left. I shrugged and followed him. Either way was the same, right? Maybe? If they both had candles, then that meant that Pegasus' people were here, so it can't be too bad…

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

I frowned in the darkness; I could feel the Millennium Rod, in my pocket, pressing against my back.

Joey wasn't far behind me. I could hear him rustling around with things; picking up things off of the stone tables and setting them down, sometimes muttering, "What the hell is this," under his breath.

"Don't touch anything," I told him.

"Uh-huh," he said lamely, ignoring me; he picked up what looked like a vase and studied it. "'Ey, Kaiba, look at this," he said. "This has a message on it. Can you read it?"

I went over to where he was standing. I squinted in the low light; in the hieratic text, I read, aloud, "the vengeful souls of those sacrificed for the Millennium Items shall rise."

"What does that mea…" Joey began to ask, before the urn in his hands started shaking; startled, he dropped it; the pottery shattered, and a horrible, thick dust filled the room swiftly.

Coughing, I growled, "what did you _do_?" at him; he replied, waving the dust out of his face, "I didn't… _mean_ to!"

We both stepped back from the destroyed urn. "Great," I said angrily. "Do you realize that your senselessness never ceases to amaze me? It's fascinating; how can you _possibly_ come up with new material so often?"

"At least you read it before it got broken," he sighed. "What good does that message do us?"

I didn't have time to wonder, myself; I was interrupted by a horrible flash of light that came from the shattered urn's remains; suddenly, the forms of hundreds of fearsome ghosts formed in front of us. They looked like lost, evil spirits- the forms of poltergeists. I yelled aloud in fright and dropped the Millennium Rod in surprise; Joey didn't even have time to react before the shrilly moaning spirits swirled around him.

He fell to his knees, gripping his head, howling aloud in pain, as they swarmed about him. I rushed towards him; they were hardly touching him, but he was reacting as though he was suffering the utmost torture- _what were they doing to him_? " _Wheeler!"_ I shouted. " _Get up! Move away from them!"_

It was no use; perhaps he couldn't even hear me, over the sound of his own painstaking yells and the moans of the ghosts. _What could I do?_ I had to think of something, _quickly_ … I didn't know what they were doing to him, but he was in pain-

" _Get off of him!"_ I yelled, now as close to them as I could possibly be without touching a ghost- It was as though I was not even there, to them; I reached my hand into the gaseous mass of ghosts in an attempt to grab Joey's shoulder and wrench him away, and was immediately struck with the sensation of having plunged my entire arm into a bucket of freezing water; I felt my hand make contact with Joey's shoulder; I was now not surprised to feel that he was even colder than my arm was-

He stopped yelling after a moment and was now obviously struggling to breathe- only seconds had gone by, but I knew this had to be stopped- then something occurred to me: why were they attacking him and not me? _Who were these ghosts…_

I had to fight them. I picked up the Millennium Rod off of the ground a few feet behind where I had been standing; instantly, as soon as my hand touched the Rod, half of the ghosts began to rush at me, and suddenly I realized that this had been the difference: he was still holding the Scales when I had dropped the Rod; they were attacking the people who held the Millennium Items…

Thinking quickly, heart pounding, I held the Millennium Rod at arm's length towards the ghosts who were hastily flying in my direction; I shouted, _"I damn you ghouls to darkness!"_

Incredibly, they all stopped and hung in midair; chest heaving, I now commanded, "Retreat to the prison of stone," still pointing the Millennium Rod. Immediately, they flew away from me and away from Joey and disappeared into a stone panel of the wall; they were gone. Joey fell forward; lying as still as the shattered pieces of the urn which he had broken.

I jammed the Millennium Rod back into my back belt loop and rushed the few feet to where Joey was crumpled and knelt down and turned him over. His eyes were closed and lips just parted; was he breathing?

" _Shit,"_ I grumbled frantically. "Shit, Wheeler, _come on_ …" I jabbed my finger up under his jaw line. _Could they have really killed him?_ No; that was impossible _… right?_

He wasn't breathing; I couldn't find a pulse. I could tell, even in the dim light of the room, that his face was stark pale… " _Shit,"_ I barked again. I clasped my hands together and brought my fists down hard and quickly onto his chest; from this action I got no response.

" _Damnit! Don't you dare do this, you useless asshole!"_ I shrieked. I beat my hands down onto his chest, again, with all of the possible force I could muster; this time, he recoiled and coughed loudly. I sighed in relief; he began lightly trembling and breathing shakily for a moment.

"Can you hear me?" I asked. "Can you get up?"

He didn't respond; only lied there, eyes still closed and face tightened in pain. His hands were curled forcefully into fists. "Say something," I said.

" _What the hell_ …" he whispered, finally, still shuddering. " _What the hell happened_ … " He opened his eyes and looked up at me. I could still see pain in his eyes; he grabbed my forearm tightly with a quivering hand and whimpered, "Kaiba…this sucks… cold…"

What should I do? Get him out of here? …yes. I pried his hand off of my arm and slung his arm around my shoulder and raised him up. I was standing; his feet dragged the floor.

"What… what happened," he whispered, hanging completely limply. "I… I don't…"

I frowned. He was clearly disoriented. Was he still in pain? "Ghosts… ghosts came from the urn that you broke," I explained. "They attacked you because you were holding the Millennium Scales…"

"No… no, I … ghosts…I know…" he muttered.

"You know? You know what they are?" I asked, very surprised.

"Atem… Atem said. …Millennium Items. …ghosts… they hate…" he replied, barely clinging to consciousness.

I sighed. He was in no condition to stand up even with my help. I gently set him back down against a wall of the temple. He was steadying his breaths; I stood impatiently in front of him. He then whispered, "The ghosts… they … they hate the Millennium Items…"

I frowned. He shakily continued, "I don't… I don't know much… more. But… those are … ghosts hate…"

I folded my arms and waited for him to regain his strength; for a long time he sat, clutching at his chest and letting out an occasional rare whimper of pain. Finally he whispered, "I'm …okay. We… we shouldn't sit still…"

Tremulously he started to push himself up, leaning against the wall desperately for support. I sighed, goaded, but realized what I had to do if we were going to get anywhere: I approached him and slung his arm around my shoulder.

"Why're you… you're helpin' me…" he muttered, as I carried him through the halls of the temple.

"If I don't, then, you're holding me back even more than you usually do."

Joey was silent. Then, he said, "What… so, you're resortin' to _teamwork_ …?"

"Look, I know that you have a ton of practice in holding me back, but, this isn't particularly the time to put your skills into motion." But, then, something caught my eye- I looked up and become surprised at something that was materializing in front of us. "What is that…" I muttered. I felt Joey lift his head and retreat his arm from around my shoulder. I let go of him and he stood by himself. He looked up at what I was seeing… "It's…" he began slowly.

It was a figure that sauntered out of the darkness. Joey gasped softly. I narrowed my eyes in disbelief. It was… _Mai Valentine?_

"Joey," she whispered. He just stood there, plainly in shock. It had been months since we saw her; she was wearing dark purple leather clothing and had a kind of sad look in her eyes. What was she doing…?

I frowned. _Mai Valentine_ was wandering this pyramid? Did Pegasus bring her, here, too? She was a good duelist… maybe he would ask for her help…? But, there were no more Millennium Items to use… so, why would Pegasus bring her here? It would be dangerous for her.

" _Mai,"_ Joey whimpered.

Mai didn't approach us anymore. She just smiled warmly yet desolately, and said, still very quietly, "Joey… can you ever forgive me…"

Joey didn't move. He was trembling; I stood a few feet behind him, mind still racing. What was she apologizing for? And why here, why now?

"Could you ever forgive me?" Mai continued, in response to his silence. "I… I am afraid to face you again. But…"

As she went on with this, my frown became deeper and deeper. Something was _wrong_. Why wasn't Mai frightened because she was _here_? Why wasn't she confused? She hadn't done any training with us… Kisara wouldn't have brought her here. Even if it had been a long time since she'd seen Joey, didn't we have other things to be concerned with, than trying to repair their friendship?

I felt something shift in my hand. The Millennium Scales _... they were tilting_ … and then I realized…

Joey stood, still tremulous, for a moment, but then began to rush forward. Thinking quickly, I grabbed his forearm, shouting, _"Don't!"_ loudly-

"Kaiba, what the hell-"Joey began desperately, but I jabbed the Millennium Scales forward; the likeness of Mai disappeared to reveal Pegasus' toon doppelganger monster. Joey gasped aloud and I threw the monster into a stone slab that made up the wall.

Joey fell to his knees as I let go of his forearm. He whimpered, "It was just…"

"…a monster," I said, furiously finishing his thought. "You can't believe everything that you see. I mean, really, that didn't seem bizarre to you? That monster could have seriously hurt you-"

He stayed on his knees. He said, "No… that's… it was just…"

I was dumbfounded when I heard him sniffle. He shakily got to his feet, facing away from me. "I… I think of Mai all the time," he said, voice horribly choked. "I… I worry about her, because I don't know where she is… I'm afraid that she'll get took advantage of again, like… like what Dartz did, and… I want so bad to see her, because I forgive her for… using the Orichalcos on me… "

I didn't know what to say. I had forgotten that Joey had lost his soul to the Orichalcos, too; I had forgotten that Dartz had brainwashed Mai into dealing him that fatal duel.

He was choking back sobs as he slowly turned to face me. "I'm sorry…" he whimpered, looking rather pathetic with tears pouring from his eyes. "I… I've just… never wanted anything so bad… it's like… how did the monster…" he hiccupped and continued to talk between sharp breaths, "…know that that's what I'm thinkin' about… we used to… be such good friends… watchin' each other's backs…"

He broke down into his hands. I frowned. "Did those ghosts have anything to do with it, I wonder," I thought aloud.

In a flash that took me completely by surprise, he threw his arms around me. " _What're you_ -!" I shrieked, squirming intolerably uncomfortably, as he sobbed into my shoulder. "Get… _get off_ …" I muttered.

He completely ignored me; only continued to cry softly into my shoulder. I sighed, exasperated, and awkwardly pat him on the back. This was _pitiful._ At least he was surprised enough when I pat him that he let go of me and took a few steps backwards. He looked, wide-eyed, at me, for a moment, before shaking his head to contain himself and saying, "Sorry, man. I don't usually act like this. I think the ghosts screwed with my head and then that monster just got my soft spot, is all. I'm okay."

"Please don't do that again." I commanded stoically.

"Yeah," he muttered, wiping his eyes and sighing. We stood in a moment of exceptionally uncomfortable silence before he quietly blubbered, "Atem said that when you were the Priest, you put your memories into the Millennium Rod. Have you seen any of 'em yet?"

"I have," I said, fine carrying on a conversation with him if it meant that he wasn't going to _cry_ anymore. "I think I know as much as you do. I saw how Atem sealed Zorc away, saw the origins of monsters… the last thing I saw was Atem crown me as the next Pharaoh."

"Yeah," Joey said. He wasn't crying anymore; his voice was steady. "You're a king, too. That's cool. We saw you when we went to the memory world. Your man-dress was pretty kick-ass… you wore this tall hat. Do you remember?"

"I have seen my hat," I sighed, wondering why I didn't expect for the only things that he found interesting to be things like that.

"Uh-huh," he laughed. "You're like, almost eight feet tall when you wore it. I wanted to wear it real bad. I had half a mind to like, sneak into your bedroom or somethin' while you were sleepin' and steal it. Then I remembered that I couldn't touch anything in the memory world…"

"You wanted to wear my hat," I repeated.

"It's totally awesome!" he exclaimed, as though everyone in the world might have wanted to wear my hat. "I think I'll make myself a hat like that so I can wear it. I liked your hat."

"Didn't you care about anything else in the memory world?" I asked. "I mean, really…"

"'Course I did," he replied carelessly, crossing his arms. "I helped Atem find his name and everything. I'm just sayin', I couldn't help but notice that you had a really kick-ass hat. But… so, you're believin' this stuff, now, huh?" he asked, grinning. I nodded diffidently; he sighed contentedly. "You've changed, Kaiba. Do you realize it?"

I frowned. "Somewhat; mostly, though, the difference in my personality and overall tolerance of your friends comes from considering the advice of my very reasonable girlfriend."

A brief moment of stunned silence; then, "Very reasonable… _what?_ " he gasped, utterly astounded.

"Girlfriend?" I asked, confusedly finishing his sentence.

" _Girlfriend_ ," he repeated.

"Sure," I said.

" _You do not."_

"I do…"

Incongruously, he looked now as though I had just offered him a million dollars. He laughed and rambled, "Kaiba actually _likes_ somebody! When the hell would I ever see the day!" jovially. "I didn't really think about it, that girl at the ball-that girl who brought us here- duh, oh my gosh, I shoulda known-"

"It's not that strange…" I muttered, eyes narrowed in bewilderment, until he elatedly said, "Do you realize what this _means?_ You're off'a the market! Those girls at school can leave you the hell alone and give _me_ a shot!"

I groaned and waited impatiently as he went on with this for a while longer, saying things like "bitches are _mine_ now, haha _ha_ ; nothin' they can do about your big money and big penis;" I discordantly interjected, "Wheeler, I _always_ rejected those girls…"

"You don't get it, do you," he sighed, shaking his head, looking _terribly_ like a shaggy dog. "When a guy like you rejects a girl, it makes her want him more."

"Why," I asked flatly.

"Because you know you're too good for 'em!"

"I _am_ too good for them," I said, not knowing where this was going.

"Right!"

We stood in a moment of silence as he beamed at me.

"Why am I even discussing this with you…" I then began, but he came up to me and clapped me on the shoulder. Then, he said, "You know what, Kaiba? You proved somethin' to me. You actually _are_ finally capable of love!"

"Love?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Have you not counted the amount of times that I have ever risked my soul for my brother?"

"That's different!" he said, eyes wide and sparkling as though he was experiencing a magical fairy tale. "You've always loved _him_! See, you had to _learn_ to like the girl that you're with, now, and the fact that you actually _did_ … so, you know what?"

" _What,"_ I demanded, now thoroughly annoyed and wanting this to be over.

"Even after all the stuff we've all been through, over all'a the years and shit, I don't utterly despise you anymore. And I tell you, by the time we're done with all 'a this Millennium Item crap, you and me are gonna be friends."

"I'm happy for you," I said sharply. "But, don't get your hopes up; I've generally not been known to waste my time succumbing to friendship with useless, drooling idiots…"

"Don't be so sure, you stubborn jackass," he sang, alight with happiness. "My tears stain your expensive ol' suit!"

I groaned and looked down at my shoulder. It wasn't really wet. He laughed. "What's it like?" he asked.

"What," I groaned.

"Let me into your mind. How does one of the rare few people that you know that you like make you feel!" he asked gleefully, almost like… he was asking for relationship advice?

"Interesting question; I suppose that I am a fascinating person to ask owing as to I hate everyone on Earth." He chuckled, said, "Damn straight!" and waited eagerly for me to continue.

I figured I'd humor him. "Hmm… I suppose she captivates me. I look into her eyes and I am blinded to the evils of the world; she speaks to me and I cannot hear the echoes of the agonizing memories that for so long have cruelly plagued my mind. As she touches my hand I am numb to pain. Every word that passes her lips leaves me speechless. You mean, like that?"

Joey's jaw was on the ground. "What," I asked.

He didn't say anything. I frowned, feeling cross and petulant _. "Did that answer your question_ ," I asked impatiently. Then he sniffled again and tears began to stream down his face, but he was _beaming._

My lips parted in surprise. Joey whimpered, "That's _… that's the most beautiful thing I ever heard, Kaiba_!"

"Beautiful?" I asked.

"You… I can't believe you're actually capable of _sayin'_ things like that!" he muttered stuffily, wiping his eyes. "I'm so _proud_ 'a you, man…" And he skipped off happily, pleased with what he had accomplished.

I stood, exasperated; rooted to the spot in which I was situated. Why… _why_ did I always have to be stuck with the idiots? Did I not deserve to be associated with even _half-wits_ \- why was I forced to team up with the _sixteenth_ -wits…

I resigned myself to following him down the hallways of this place. At least the sooner we got out of here, the sooner I could go back to visiting with the intelligent people whom I actually enjoyed spending time with: a mirror and a duel disk.


	22. Antirrhinum

_**Chapter Twenty-Two** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

I'd started walking in front of Kaiba, but he wasn't far behind me. But, suddenly, the long silence was broken by a crash and then a sudden rush- _Dark Magician_ suddenly was blown through the stone wall, crumbling a huge section of it- I shrieked aloud and shielded my face from the rubble, and Kaiba's running steps caught up to me- _Dark Magician_! Could this mean that Yugi was nearby? Dark Magician shot a huge ball of light into the hole and something on the other side shrieked-

I gasped and we hurriedly entered the room that had just been created. Dark Magician simply smiled at me and then disappeared. We were alone in this room. What did this mean…? Yugi wasn't here… I supposed that Yugi didn't summon the magician… I was kind of disappointed…

This room was kind of battered and destroyed. Chunks of stone were all over the room… some of them as large as baseballs. It looked like a stone slab had been destroyed? By what, I wondered briefly, but then Kaiba let out an audible short yell and flew to the middle of the room-

Then I realized. Oh, _hell. Mokuba_.

" _Mokuba_!" I shouted, running to the boy, who was crumpled in the middle of the room. My heart was racing horribly. Did he lose a duel? Did a monster attack him?

Kaiba had of course beat me here and had moved him into a sitting position, shaking him. His head hung heavily over his arm. " _Mokuba! Mokuba!"_ he was pleading desperately…

I was surprised and relieved when Mokuba muttered something. He wasn't really conscious… but hey, he wasn't really dead. I said, "Can you talk?" louder.

No response, really- his face was tightening a little bit… poor kid was concussed, or something. I hoped he was okay. There were bits of stone in his hair, and I realized he might have just been hit by something… but, it might not be so bad. He didn't seem to be bleeding or anything…

"He's knocked out, but he's okay," I said. "I think he is. Did he manage to summon the Dark Magician?"

Mokuba muttered something jumbled. Kaiba was still worried and upset, but calmly asked, "Can you hear me?"

Mokuba yawned loudly, but did nothing else. Kaiba sighed. "Maybe he got hit in the head by somethin' that fell?" I suggested. "I bet it wasn't any monster that hurt him or anything. The Dark Magician was protectin' him."

"The Dark Magician," Kaiba repeated quietly.

"Yeah," I said. "I think Mokuba got hit with a piece of stone… Look at all of the chunks of rocks lying around. Looks like quite a battle."

Kaiba was clearly distraught. But, then, we were both shocked when Mokuba gasped and jerked his eyes open.

" _Mokuba!"_ Kaiba and I both gasped at the same time.

"Are you okay-" Kaiba began, but Mokuba took a second to look around, chirped, "Seto!" and leapt standing. Taken aback, Kaiba asked, "Are… you're okay?"

"Yeah!" Mokuba said, very excited. "I wish you coulda been there, Seto! I summoned the Dark Magician! It was so cool!"

"Yeah, we saw the Dark Magician," I said, as Kaiba and I both stood up. "You summoned it?"

"Uh-huh," he replied, very brightly. He seemed …completely okay… if anything, had more energy than ever. "It was great! I was in this room, and I had no idea where the hell I was, but then I saw Different Dimension Dragon coming at me, and I thought, oh shit, I gotta fight that, so I held up the Millennium Ring and I made the _Dark Magician_ appear! And so the Dark Magician blast the balls off of the dragon but then there was some kind of explosion and its stone slab burst, like, 'cause you know, the dragon can't be destroyed, like, it keeps coming back or whatever-"

He was talking a million miles a minute. Kaiba and I were having trouble keeping up. "So like, the Dark Magician had to use a cool new spell that I'd never seen him use! It was like this kind of weird powdery crap that he shot forth and it landed on the dragon and made it start to go to sleep and get weak, and then it tried to blast the Dark Magician but then the Dark Magician blast it again and that time it went away, except for that I guess some of the crap musta landed on me because I got real tired…"

Kaiba was looking at him, amazed. Mokuba put his hands on his hips and said, "But, I won anyway. Stupid asshole dragon didn't know what hit it. It was fun!" Then he laughed.

Kaiba chuckled, too, now. "I'm glad you're well," he said. "Let's keep going up, then."

"You know what I noticed, guys?" Mokuba asked thoughtfully, as we peered into rooms, still at a loss as to which paths to take: Pegasus' crews had strung up lights all over the place, so there wasn't a really definitive spot… I sometimes began to worry if we'd ever make it out of here. We'd starve. We'd die. I wanted a steak. …I had to take a dump, more, though. Did the Ancient Egyptians ever think that their pharaohs would have to poop in the afterlife? They probably did. They thought a lot of weird stuff.

"Hmm," Kaiba replied to Mokuba.

"We're in Egypt, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. Was there a toilet around here, maybe? Had toilets been invented, yet?

"And, it's July?"

"Should be," I continued. When were toilets invented, anyway…

"Why are we all totally okay wearing long pants and jackets and stuff, you guys? Is it just me- it's kind of downright cold in here? How deep underground do you think we are?"

Huh, interesting. I hadn't thought of that. I said, "I don't remember if I could feel the temperature in the memory world…"

Mokuba sighed. "I'm hungry," he said, as we entered another large chamber. So was I, dude… so was I. This room was completely empty- no jars or furniture or anything. Stone slabs were here and there, but not even paintings were on the walls.

I was about to agree loudly with Mokuba, but I felt something shift in my hand. The Millennium Scales were tilting-

" _Oh, shit, you guys, look-"_ I gasped, and they both turned around and looked at me. Both of them raised their eyebrows when they saw the Scales and Kaiba said, "Be alert- use your Items to defend yourse-"

" _Look!"_ I yelled, pointing ahead- I was the first to notice that someone else was here-

" _No way! Pegasus!"_ I gasped, as the figure approached us and was illuminated by the low light. It definitely was Pegasus, but…he was looking shady and angry. His eyes… Pegasus wasn't himself. He was stronger, and more determined, and… less _human_.

Pegasus muttered, "I wondered when I would see you again."

Kaiba gasped quietly and whispered, " _Akhenaden."_

The ends of Pegasus's mouth curled up slightly. "I am not. Once I was… but that was a weak side of my soul that I have shunned to obscurity. Zorc has given me true power: control over the darkest shadows and recesses. I can manipulate the souls of men and bend time to my will. I am the High Priest of Darkness." It wasn't even Pegasus' voice… something about his chipper accent was there, but for the most part, he spoke with a low tone that actually scared me…

"It's not Pegasus," Mokuba whispered. "It's… he's being _possessed_ …!"

And it was then that I realized something: Pegasus had had a scar on his cheek- a laceration. We hadn't thought twice about it earlier, but now I realized… Kaiba hadn't given him a laceration when he punched him! _He gave him a laceration with the Millennium Rod on the night that Yugi was attacked…_

"There's always been something evil in the Millennium Eye…" I muttered. Pegasus… no, the High Priest of Darkness… continued to approach us slowly.

"Don't come near us," I yelled. "I know what you did to Yugi!"

Kaiba and Mokuba looked up at me, amazed, for a moment, before both looked back at the High Priest of Darkness- Mokuba gasped, _"His cheek…! It was him_!"

We had to fight him. He had incredible powers and we couldn't let him continue on like this. "Fight us!" I shouted. "You want our items? _Fight us for 'em!"_

"Wheeler…" Kaiba said. "Let me do it. Please."

He stood in front of me, long cape swishing as he walked. I could _feel_ the powerful vibes coming off of him. Mokuba looked nervous, but I knew he trusted Kaiba to win- and… somehow, so did I.

The High Priest of Darkness smiled. "You wish to fight me."

"Can you bear to stand against me?" Kaiba asked smugly. "Can you bring yourself to harm me? You had every opportunity to shred my soul that night, in the park- and yet, you let go of my neck…"

"Big brother…" Mokuba whimpered, but I put my hand bracingly on his shoulder, knowing that we should let Kaiba do what he thought he had to do.

The High Priest of Darkness stood in silence for a moment before muttering, "I do not need to bear the guilt of destroying my son; I intend only to bring you back to the glory which I trained you for." Kaiba's lips parted, and the High Priest continued, "It was always my dream to have you lead the reign of darkness under Zorc. I intend only to inject your soul with the power that flows through my veins. I will fight you, my handsome boy."

I felt sick to my stomach. The problem with creepy barbarian guys like that is that they mean everything they say. "Very well, then," Kaiba snarled. He held the Millennium Rod up and there was a kind of shadow that fell across the room.

Mokuba again whimpered, "Big brother…"

But Kaiba angrily continued, "The conditions of my shadow game: should you lose, suffer death at the jaws of your own monster."

"I accept; on the event of my victory, your soul is mine to do with as I see fit," was the High Priest of Darkness's reply. I gulped again. I knew that Kaiba knew what he was doing- he wasn't the type to just stupidly jump into something- but… this was _the High Priest of Darkness_ , the most powerful being on Earth next to Zorc…

No. That was bad thinking. Kaiba was perfectly capable of summoning extremely strong monsters. I had to trust him. Stone slabs arose around Kaiba and the High Priest of Darkness. The High Priest of Darkness raised his hand, summoned his first monster: a giant gross insect that was dripping venom from its pincers-

"I am excited for this; you are a talented duelist," the High Priest of Darkness mumbled. "I taught you everything that you know."

"Wrong," Kaiba said quietly. "I learned one thing that wholly contradicted everything that you bothered to show me. Allow _me_ to edify _you."_

He raised the Millennium Rod, and I felt elated- I knew what was coming. _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_. Hell yes.

And, sure enough, an enormous bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of Kaiba. Time itself seemed to bow to the great dragon. All I could do was stare at it and not think about what anyone else was doing. It materialized in front of Kaiba and coiled its tail around him. " _Yeah!_ " Mokuba and I both shouted.

The High Priest of Darkness was frowning… he actually looked _frightened._ As he should. "I have overpowered you once before, with the dragon on my side. Taste defeat… _Akhenaden,_ " Kaiba shouted.

The High Priest of Darkness then stopped frowning. In fact, now he _laughed_. " _Dare you strike me, Set!"_ The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I didn't like that laugh.

"Yes," Kaiba snarled, and held the Millennium Rod forward- but the High Priest of Darkness hissed back, "You strike not me, but the owner of the pathetic body which I possess!"

" _What?"_ I yelled, as Mokuba gasped and Kaiba actually let the Millennium Rod drop a little bit. " _Explain yourself,"_ he demanded.

"You strike me- I will lose, and suffer the penalty of the shadow game- my monster will turn to destroy the man you call Pegasus. _I_ shall live on."

" _Don't listen to 'im, Kaiba!"_ I yelled. Kaiba turned his head and looked at me. "Don't listen! He's bluffin'! We can try to save Pegasus later! Don't give in to 'im! We gotta get the Millennium Eye! _Hit him_!"

Kaiba frowned at me for a moment, but then he smirked and said, "Excellent call, Wheeler; but, you are stupid to think that I would even consider hesitating."

Kaiba turned away from me and raised the Millennium Rod again. "Oh yeah?" I muttered victoriously to myself. "I may be stupid, but at least I'm not a damn asshole."

"This is the extent- the _profundity_ \- of my abhorrence," Kaiba murmured to the High Priest of Darkness.

"I refuse to lose to you," the High Priest of Darkness replied dimly. There was a shadow over his face. "I will not suffer such humiliation at your hands as I did at the Pharaoh's."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed and I saw him frown, but it wasn't so angry as it was almost… troubled? "Get back," he told me and Mokuba. What was he afraid of? What could the High Priest of Darkness do, faced with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon? Would he try to attack Kaiba the way he did, Yugi…? _Could_ he…?

And then in what felt like one millisecond, as Kaiba opened his mouth again to command the dragon to attack, the High Priest of Darkness left his side of the field and lunged at me and Mokuba. Kaiba shouted, _"no!"_ and quickly I grabbed Mokuba's wrist and wrenched him backwards, away from the scene, and Kaiba had thrown himself in our direction, blocking us from the High Priest of Darkness - he had the Millennium Rod's knife out and unsheathed and was pointing it at the High Priest of Darkness. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon was shooting small bolts of lightning all around the room, but the High Priest of Darkness was fast and was dodging them- Kaiba shouted, " _You coward! Get back on your side of the field and let's finish this duel!_ "

The High Priest of Darkness now looked totally fanatical. He knew he was going to lose this duel and he knew that as soon as he was forced to vacate Pegasus' body, we would take the Millennium Eye, and that would be the end of everything that he had planned- the end of Zorc's return, the end of his ability to summon monsters... He knew that he couldn't face a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He leapt forward again, this time at Kaiba-

-and in that moment, the world slowed down, and my vision was swirling, and, in what I knew must have been a horrible, lightning-quick instant, I saw the High Priest of Darkness grab Kaiba by the neck, tear the Millennium Rod from his hand, and plunge the blade deep into his right side.

A horrible, sickening sense of dread washed over me as the shadow clouds lifted from around us and all of the monsters vanished- the Blue Eyes White Dragon in particular let out a kind of high shriek before disappearing in a burst of light. The High Priest of Darkness had dragged the Millennium Rod's blade a few inches through and across Kaiba's waist- I could see a puddle of blood very quickly begin to grow and stain his ripped clothes. The High Priest of Darkness, still holding the Millennium Rod, tossed him aside as though he was little more than a ragdoll- he landed, silent and still, feet away from all of us, crumpled face-down on the ground.

" _Kaiba!"_ I shouted. Mokuba was next to me, eyes huge, hands plastered to his mouth. We both then rushed forward, not thinking twice about running right in front of the High Priest of Darkness-

… _what the hell should I do_ …! We reached Kaiba- _he was bleeding profusely at my feet_ \- was it right, would it not hurt him, if I were to even _touch_ him? Carefully yet quickly I turned him onto his back, shouting, _"Kaiba! Kaiba! Come on, man! Come on! Kaiba, no!"_

His eyes were closed and his head fell limply to the side. My badly-trembling hands were clamped onto his shoulders as I knelt here, trying desperately to stir him… was I really _seeing_ this…? This was impossible! _This was completely impossible!_

I looked up at the High Priest of Darkness, utterly unable to believe it. He… was just standing there, not doing anything. Did… what was he _thinking?_ But then he stopped looking blank-eyed and then instead looked straight at us, and I suddenly felt myself freeze from the neck down. I moved my eyes to Mokuba, and saw that he, too, was frozen stiff… but he was now screaming, _"Seto! Big brother!"_

The world was spinning, in my mind. No, no, _no,_ I _had_ to do something- I had to fight the High Priest of Darkness or I had to find a way to stop Kaiba from bleeding or I had to _stop time_ so that I could _think_ or- the High Priest of Darkness approached us and surprisingly gently lifted Kaiba out of my grasp. Then the both of them disappeared. Instantly we could move again. Mokuba fell forward, keeled over by the blood puddle, whimpering, _"No… no…_ " over and over.

 _Could I have actually just seen that?_ All I could think was, "Oh, shit… oh, _shit_ …" We had to find them. We had to- we only had _minutes-_ we had to find them-

There was a terrible roar from behind us. I whipped around and looked right into the face of a giant, silver monster that looked like half man, half snake. I recognized it as _Diabound._

" _Mokuba_!" I shouted, heart positively stopped. Could I really take much more of this? I held up the Millennium Scales. " _We got to fight this thing_!"

He didn't respond. He only stayed, trembling, on his knees. I grabbed his shoulder for a second. " _Come on!"_ I shouted, perhaps more sternly than I'd intended, but nonetheless, I turned around and thrust the Millennium Scales up. I heard the crunch of a stone slab rising from the ground behind me. " _Flame Swordsman!"_ I shouted.

Diabound leapt at my Flame Swordsman. I shouted aloud in surprise and yelled, " _Hit him back! Use your sword!"_

No luck. Diabound charged a ball of light in its hands and hurled it at my Flame Swordsman, which gasped and then disappeared. The pain struck me like a lightning-bolt- I howled and was rendered bent-over- but I looked up hazily and was surprised to see that Diabound was struggling, bound by something invisible. Then, there was a sudden lowering of the room's temperature and a burst of dark purple fire in the middle of the room. The Magician of Black Chaos stepped from it.

My jaw dropped and I shook my head as the pain of losing Flame Swordsman retreated, and I tried to make sure I wasn't just seeing things- and no, I definitely was looking right at _the Magician of Black Chaos._

Still slightly bent over, grasping at my stomach, I looked over my shoulder and saw that Mokuba was standing, shakily holding the Millennium Ring at arm's length. The Magician of Black Chaos raised his scepter and blasted Diabound with a single shot. Diabound shrieked and disappeared. When its attack was finished, the Magician of Black Chaos disappeared, too. I was stunned. It took an enormous amount of power to summon a monster like that.

"M… Mokuba, that's…" I stammered, staring back at the place that the monsters had just been. The room was completely quiet. Everything was gone. "You… you just summoned the _Magician of Black Chaos_ …"

He didn't respond or seem to hear me at all. His eyes were huge and blank and hands were shaking and he looked beyond sick- I immediately remembered Kaiba and the High Priest of Darkness.

What to do. _What to do._ I thought desperately of a plan. Then it dawned on me, and my heart leapt with a little bit of possible hope: when Atem had been lost, Isis had sent her monster, Spira, to find him- I knew that Spira could detect the location of anyone's soul, so she could find Kaiba! I held the Millennium Scales up to a stone slab and commanded, " _Spira! Help us!"_

I was relieved when the outline of Isis' monster appeared in the stone slab and then materialized in front of it. Breathlessly I begged, "You gotta help us- Kaiba- you know, priest Set, whatever, he was in a battle with the High Priest of Darkness- you know, Akhenaden, and Set was wounded real bad- please find him! You gotta find him or lead us to him!"

Spira closed her eyes for a moment and otherwise didn't move. "What the hell are you _doing?"_ I frantically demanded. "Come on, go find him, _please!_ He was cut open like a damn roast ham on Christmas- _you don't get it!_ Please, come on, go find him, _seriously!"_

Spira's eyes opened. "I know the man of whom you speak. I cannot detect his soul."

There was a rushing noise in my ears. After an eternally long heartbeat of silence, I whispered, _"What?"_

"I cannot locate him. His soul has been changed, or damaged, or has departed," she replied, voice deep and heavy.

" _No._ No, no, that's impossible," I growled at her. "That means he's _dead,_ and that's _impossible_. You gotta find him-"

"I cannot be of assistance to you," she whispered apologetically. "The man whom you speak of is not here to be located."

In the stunned silence I heard a rustle, and looked over my shoulder to see that Mokuba had fallen to his knees. Rooted in the stare that he was giving Spira was a look of devastation that surpassed all grief. I looked back up at Spira too. This was _wrong._ "No. You don't understand. You don't get-"

"I wish you the best on your journey," Spira whispered, before evaporating into nothingness. _"No!"_ I shouted at the empty air, rushing forward to where she had just been. " _Get back here! Get back here, you stupid bitch, don't make me kick your ass- You don't get it! You don't-"_

It was useless. She was gone. I swallowed hard and attempted to think about what she'd said. 'Or departed,' she'd said. _Departed._ This…

I slowly turned on the spot to face Mokuba. He was just sitting on the ground, knees to his chest, hands folded on top of his head. Numbly I walked back to where he was and sat near him in silence.

A lot of time went by very slowly, but they were probably among the worst moments of my life. Mokuba was sitting a few feet from me, eyes wide and staring. His hands were tangled in his own hair. He hadn't spoken in what felt like hours. What could I possibly do for him? What could I possibly say to him? I couldn't even _begin_ to imagine how Mokuba felt now, especially since he had _watched_ the whole thing…

…even I couldn't describe what I felt. Kaiba? The guy who had been Yugi's (and, really, my) top rival, the guy who did so much tournament crap, the guy who had been on so many adventures with us, and I had finally learned to tolerate… _dead? Like, seriously?_ I kind of couldn't believe it. Maybe I felt sad, too. I had just learned to kind of like him. He always gave me something to strive for- he kind of served as motivation to become a better duelist. … I never got the chance to kick his ass.

…He hadn't ever actually heard me give him my ultimate comeback and hadn't ever gotten the chance to admit pathetic defeat when faced with my ultimate comeback. …maybe I _was_ sad. I bit my lip for a second as tears began to burn at my eyes.

"I'm amazed at how strong you were, when you summoned the Magician of Black Chaos…" I said as cheerily as I could possibly muster, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "That was awesome. You definitely saved my ass."

His eyes raised slowly to me for a moment. Then, he nodded just barely, and then went back to staring, blank-eyed, at nothing. I sighed. I felt completely helpless, which was the worst thing ever. Was there _anything_ we could do?

The silence was then broken by a beep from my watch. I had completely lost track of time, but that beep meant that it was now midnight. Today was July 7th. Mokuba muttered something. I was surprised. "What?" I asked him.

"It's my birthday," he whispered, somewhat louder than what he had just said. Then, out of nowhere, he burst in to ailing sobs.

I was wondering when he would finally cry over what happened. I had been almost worried, because he hadn't. I put my arm around his shoulder bracingly. He wept miserably into his hands, whimpering, "What am I g…going to _do_? Th… they g…got… they k _…killed…_ my brother! _My big brother!"_

My heart broke. Poor, _poor_ boy. …he hadn't even gotten to say goodbye… I wished there was something- _anything_ \- that I could do…

He kept up with this hysterical crying for what felt like hours. Honestly, it probably was hours that had gone by. Then, finally, he muttered, "He would always tell me that… that it showed weakness to c…cry, but… but what am I going to do without him… !"

He folded his arms on his knees and buried his face in them, whimpering, "my brother," over and over. I finally thought of something to say. I said, "You don't show weakness when you cry. The only time you show weakness is when you give up."

To my surprise, he looked up at me. Was this working? I continued, "You know… remember, during your battle city tournament, when the doctors thought I was dead, after my battle with Marik?"

He wiped his eyes and nodded. I said, "Serenity… she was _destroyed_. She told me, afterwards, that she sobbed over my stupid lifeless body for a long time, and that it was the worst bunch of moments of her life… but, when the time came that she had to be strong, for Yugi… she was."

"But… how was Yugi's duel more important than… your life?" he asked.

"Well… I wouldn't put it that way, but everyone knew that I would want them to stop worryin' about me. They knew that I would want them to be supportive to Yugi during his duel with your brother. So, they showed strength by doing what they knew I'd want."

He swallowed hard. "So," I continued, "I hope you realize how strong you are. You probably saved both of our lives when you summoned the Magician of Black Chaos. That's what Kaiba'd want. Right?"

"He… he would be proud of me…" he whimpered. But, then, he started wailing again. I sighed heavily. But, this was probably good for him… all I could do was hold my arm around his shoulder tightly, pinning him to my side.

After an even longer while, he quieted somewhat. Then, he muttered, "Joey… how many times have I… have I ever thought that I've lost my brother…"

… _a lot_ , I thought miserably. All of our friends had been in severe turmoil at one point or another… I could think of a time when I had thought Tristan was gone, and then another time with Tea, and another with Yugi… and, that went for Kaiba, too. We always pulled through in the end… but, was this one of those times…? "Too many times," I said softly.

"It's because of the Millennium Items," Mokuba stuffily mumbled. "…because of the things that happened in the past. …they're what make Pegasus, and Dartz, and… and all of those horrible people the way that they are…"

I looked down at him. He wasn't crying anymore. His eyes had a kind of… hatred or fury in them. I was surprised. I had seen Mokuba mad before, but those times that he had been mad, it had been like, honest, frantic anger. This was different…

He lifted the Millennium Ring from around his neck and looked dangerously at it. He said, "my brother is all that I have," quietly. "Seto was all that I ever had. And, to so many times… take away the one person who was ever there for me… the only person whom I ever loved…"

He plucked my hand off of his shoulder and stood up and walked a few feet away from me, standing in front of the stone slab that had once contained the Magician of Black Chaos. Then, he swung his arm backwards and threw the Millennium Ring at the slab. I was stunned when the stone actually fell over and broke into a million pieces when the Ring hit it. Mokuba shouted, _"I can't wait until Yugi makes the items all burn! I can't wait until their curses are banished to hell!"_

"M… Mokuba…" I gasped, actually _scared._ Fists clenched, he turned to me. "I want the Millennium Items to taste my abhorrence," he spat. "They took away my _family!_ You know what it's like, Joey- to sob over the lifeless forms of the people whom you love; to be able to do nothing but shout helplessly at those who harm them. Except…" he swallowed hard, positively _shaking_ with rage. "…this time, I watched an Item _literally cut my brother's body in half_!"

…what should I do? I was now downright _frightened_. He looked so _dangerous_ … like he was murderous in revenge, and was smart enough to know just how to act on it. I always knew he was a real smart kid… far more so than any other thirteen-year-old. But now, he was proving to me just how deep he was. But, in this situation, maybe it was a bad thing…

He looked down at the shattered stone slab that he had once used to summon the Magician of Black Chaos. His eyes narrowed and he _chuckled_. "Isn't that something," he said poisonously. "Don't you just love the way that the Items work? Fill me with the deepest revulsion that I've ever felt, and I've never been so powerful."

He looked and sounded… _just like Kaiba, now_ … he was piercing me with his eyes. Did he want me to say something? I looked sadly at him. Then he said, "I am no longer hurt by the times that I've been forcefully torn out of my own heart. It's happened to both of us quite a few times, right?"

My lips parted but I said nothing. He made a sort of "pft" noise and chuckled again. "Look. I'm over that… but, now, I refuse to forgive the Items anymore. I refuse to exonerate them, or the High Priest of Darkness, or… any of them. I won't think anymore that the trials that the Millennium Items have put us through were making us stronger or teaching us important things…" he swallowed hard and looked back up at me again. "What were we thinking, Joey? We know that they're like this! We all know that they turn people into psychotic killers and bring torture and death- why did we take them? Why did we even consider that they were cool or fun- and not destroy them weeks ago!"

"B…because Zorc can power himself up without them because he was unlocked when Atem was unlocked… he'd just show up eventually if we did nothin' and if we destroyed the items we'd have no weapons…" I whimpered.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. He frowned in silence for a moment, but then continued, "Fine. Yes. I know what we have to do," quietly. "I know that we have to… so… I'm going to go with you guys and do it… but…" he paused and his eyes narrowed, "…but only because I want to see the High Priest of Darkness _suffer_."

I sighed. _Look_ at him… I could _feel_ his agony. He was still frowning at me. "Don't tell me that I'm wrong for it, Joey. I want to watch him writhe under the fire that I control. If he wants to try, a man like that can attempt to ask for mercy from God- but, not from me."

I realized something. He was a thirteen-year-old boy who had just watched his big brother _die_ … a big brother is what he needed. Well, I was a big brother, too. I knelt down a little bit in front of him so that we were about the same height. His eyes narrowed. "What're you…" he began, but I said nothing. Then, I reached forward and gathered him into a close, brotherly hug.

" _Joey_!" he demanded tensely. "What're you _doing_ …" but, gradually, I felt him relax a little bit. Then, his voice began to tremble… he said, "J…Joey, you're… …stop it…"

"It's alright, buddy," I said quietly.

"But… but, you…" he whimpered. 

This poor boy was just like my little sister. I could feel him shaking… then, I felt his arms wrap tightly around my back, and he began to quietly sob into my shoulder. ... _That's_ what I was waiting for. We stayed like this for a while… I felt his arms clinging to me as though clinging to the last bit of love that he had in the world.

"Th… thanks, Joey…" he whispered, finally letting go of me, and I took that to mean that I should let him go too. "We'd …we'd better move on…" he turned towards the rubble that was once a stone slab and lifted the Millennium Ring out of it, and slipped it back around his neck.


	23. Cypress

_**Chapter Twenty-Three** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

In silence I followed Joey through the halls of the tomb. I closed my eyes, teeth clenched behind closed lips. I had to stop crying. Yugi needed me to be strong. We even had one less Millennium Item, now… which means that Zorc had two on his side. We were in trouble.

Joey kept looking sadly over his shoulder at me. Sometimes he would ask me, "You doin' alright?" to which I would barely nod in response.

I wiped a stray tear from my eye. My hands were in front of me, and I saw the diamond-laden rings on my fingers. Seeing the KaibaCorp symbol in the diamonds caused another thing hit my drowned mind: _I was president of KaibaCorp._

I stopped walking and let this thought absorb me for a moment. Joey heard my footsteps stop and looked back at me. "Are you okay…?" he asked slowly.

"I'm…" I whimpered, "I have to be the C.E.O. of KaibaCorp…"

His lips parted. He hadn't thought of that either. "That's… wow, Mokuba…" he began. He approached me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Look at it this way: you can fulfill your brother's dream of buildin' theme parks for orphaned children… right?"

" _I_ don't want to be the one who fulfills my brother's dreams," I whispered. " _He_ was supposed to be the one who did that."

He kept his hands bracingly on my shoulders for another few moments when we heard a loud crash from nearby. My heart raced; could it be the High Priest of Darkness…?

"Come on, let's go see what that is-" Joey said, and started running. I quickly followed him. There was another crash. "It's growing louder!" I yelled, having to raise my voice to be heard over the noise. "Yeah," Joey agreed.

The hallway led to a giant room where we could now hear shouting voices. It was definitely-

" _Tristan! Yugi!_ _Téa_ _!"_ Joey yelled and ran into the room. I was expecting to see the trio, but found another surprise: they were all fighting an army of multiple Diabounds. Yugi yelled, " _Joey! Zorc's built an army! Help us!"_

I gulped. I could summon the Magician of Black Chaos again, I bet. I gripped the Millennium Ring and willed him to appear; he did, and I commanded him to blast the Diabound that was nearest Tristan.

That Diabound exploded in a burst of dust that Tristan had to shield his face from. "Holy _hell_ , Mokuba, that's the _Magician of Black Chaos_!" Yugi shouted, upon seeing the clash. He was fighting with Dark Magician Girl, this time- I knew that he was saving the Egyptian gods or Horakhty for when we actually had to fight Zorc, himself.

Dark Magician Girl narrowly avoided a bite from Diabound's snake- Téa had summoned Panther Warrior and successfully defeated the Diabound that again lunged at Dark Magician Girl- one final blast from Dark Magician Girl's scepter, and the last Diabound disappeared.

The room was silent except for the shallow breaths of my weary teammates. They all looked worn- Yugi's tuxedo jacket had rips in it and Tristan's entire suit looked dark and dusty. Tea's hair was falling out of its style, and she had put the Tauk around her neck.

Tristan then punched the air and cheered, " _Yeah!"_ and Yugi looked right at me and nearly shrieked, "That's _amazing-_ you can fight with the _Magician of Black Chaos!"_

"I've gotten stronger," I muttered.

"Holy crap, it's good to see you guys," Tristan said breathlessly, clapping his hands on Joey's shoulders for a moment. "Do you have any shred of an idea how the hell we got here?"

"Yeah, I'll explain later, but what happened to you guys?" Joey asked. "The last thing I remember before being here was Pegasus causing the uproar at the party…"

"Last thing I remember is him overturning the table and the windows shattering," Téa mused, and Yugi nodded. Joey asked them where they all woke up in the tomb. Tristan reported being in a nearby hallway with Yugi. "I found them later," Téa said, arms crossed. "I was in a different hallway. What about you guys? What's happened to all of you?"

"I was with Kaiba," Joey began. "We were in one of the lowest chambers, and we followed the trail of lights all the way up here- found Mokuba after he'd had a battle…"

"A battle?" Yugi asked, interested. I shrugged. "Nothing," I muttered.

"You said Kaiba was with you. Where is he?" Téa asked confusedly.

Joey frowned down at me and then looked up at everyone else. I knew that he was about to tell them what had happened to Seto. I let my mind go blank. I couldn't bear it; I couldn't bring myself to relive the story…

"Kaiba was with us," he began. "Just now, we ran into Pegasus. He's here, too, but he'd been totally taken over by the High Priest of Darkness."

There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone looked at each other. " _The High Priest of Darkness!"_ Tristan gasped in disbelief. "Dude, no _way_ , that's _crazy…"_

"It kind of explains what Pegasus has been acting like, I guess," Yugi thought aloud. "Maybe that's how and why he brought us here… but, yeah, still… crazy…"

"Well… it kind of…" Joey sighed; clearly he didn't know how to explain. "It gets …crazier. I guess. Kaiba said he wanted to fight him. He summoned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and they played a shadow game… they set it so that the loser would be killed by his own monster… he was kind of using Pegasus as his pawn, I guess…"

There was silence for a moment again as everyone tried to understand what was going on. Yugi said, "You're… _where is Kaiba_ …? There's no way… that he _lost?"_

"He didn't lose," Joey told them.

"Well… so, what happened to Pegasus…?" Téa asked nervously. "Is… did Pegasus get hit by his own monster…?"

Joey was clearly having trouble talking about it. Joey said, "No… the duel was never finished. The High Priest of Darkness realized he was going to lose… I guess he, like, panicked or whatever because he knew that we'd take the Millennium Eye if the body that he was using died… he needed the Millennium Eye."

"He panicked?" Yugi asked.

"That's not the way to put it, I guess," Joey muttered. "But yeah, he was able to, like, leave the shadow game… so the High Priest of Darkness cheated. He abandoned his monster and, like, physically attacked Kaiba, himself… bypassed all the monsters…"

"Kaiba's as big as Pegasus, though. Didn't he just fight…?" Tristan began, but Joey said, "the High Priest of Darkness got ahold of the Millennium Rod. And, you know… it's… well, it's got a knife in it…"

There was a horrible, sickening silence as I stared at the floor and fought to hold back tears again. After a long time, Yugi muttered, "That's impossible."

"I saw it," Joey said. "Mokuba saw it… I don't know, I don't think Kaiba ever saw it comin'… he kind of knew that somethin' bad was going to happen but he didn't know that it would be like that…"

" _We… we have to find him, then!"_ Téa gasped. " _We have to save him!_ How… how bad…"

Joey didn't say anything. He didn't look at Téa, and she understood. Téa whimpered, "Oh, oh my…" Then I saw her look at me. "Oh, _Mokuba_ …"

"I don't believe it," Tristan insisted. "I don't believe it. There's no way."

"There was… there was a lot of blood," Joey muttered. "He got stabbed in the side…" he pointed to the spot on his own abdomen where Seto had been wounded and continued, "…you know, the knife is real long, so… like, I don't know, I thought to summon Spira- you know, Isis' monster that she used to look for Atem when he was lost, 'cause Spira can detect peoples' souls or whatever- and Spira said that she couldn't find him."

"But that means that his soul isn't here anymore," Yugi said pointedly.

"Yeah," Joey whispered.

Téa was now standing in front of me. Numbly I felt her put her arms around my shoulders and hold my head to her chest. She was whimpering, " _I'm so, so, so sorry…"_

"I don't believe it," Tristan persisted. "No way. No _way."_

"I'm… I'm okay for now," I muttered, forcing myself to keep a straight face. I could see Yugi; he was staring, eyes wide, at Joey. He wasn't saying anything; Joey was looking at the ground.

This… this was stupid. We shouldn't stand here and be weepy. I pulled myself out of Téa's grasp and said, "Let's… let's go. We have to find the High Priest of Darkness. Come on."

I turned on my heel and walked out of the room; I heard their footsteps begin to follow me and I hoped that, as I had so swiftly turned from them, they had not seen my anguish in the form of tears that again began to drip down my cheeks.


	24. Perennial

_**Chapter Twenty-Four** _

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

Slowly I opened my eyes. I felt nothing. My nebulous mind gradually gripped the fact that I was lying on my stomach, on the stone ground… I raised my eyes and saw that a hazy figure of Akhenaden was standing over me. He had left Pegasus… or had sent a part of his consciousness, here… because, he looked like a _ghost;_ and this was certainly his form, not Pegasus'. His sinuous, dark robes were floating around him, adding eerily to his ethereal appearance.

I then remembered everything that had happened. Controlling Pegasus, he had stabbed me with the Millennium Rod… it was hard to breathe. I attempted to lift my head; without much success, I gasped, "What're you…"

"I am surprised that you still live," he whispered, voice low and deep.

So was I, now that I thought about it. He had plunged the razor-sharp blade into my right side; I knew that it was long enough to cleanly cut my abdomen almost in half. I looked down as much as I could and was somewhat taken aback despite my expectance to see that my own blood angrily stained my shirt in a large, circular blot; a puddle of it still was leisurely growing on the ground. I felt no pain, but realized the truth: I was bleeding to death.

"You…" I whispered. Was I scared?

I couldn't make out his expression, but he said in a tone that was perhaps meant to be gentle, "…I can save you."

"Save me…?" I whispered. Air entered my throat hesitantly. The world was swirling; I could no longer feel the stone ground under my cheek…

"Surrender to me, Set," he held steadfast, in an attempt to inveigle me. "I can save you if you join me. Join me and reign over the kingdom in the way that you were always meant to."

I swallowed. I was cold. I could hardly see.

"Only seconds have passed since I injured you. I can save you. Let me save you, Set," he persisted placidly.

"L…leave me," I said, voice not above a susurrus.

"Do you understand? Your flesh has been fatally wounded. The Millennium Rod's blade has cleanly severed your kidneys and the major veins that keep your other organs alive. But, with my power, you can live on; with my power, you will not be shackled by the limits of mortality…"

"I refuse… to join you," I hissed, through clenched teeth.

He said nothing for a moment. I continued, fighting with the lead weight in my chest for every breath, "do… you know that I _was_ … a king? You… you tried to force Atem… to surrender, but… but I inherited the throne only when… only when I gained a power… from light." My eyes eased shut. "You…are a fool. You are weak. I don't need you. I never needed you."

There was another moment of silence. My eyelids stayed closed. I could _feel_ the calm steadying of my heart; my body was shutting down.

"So, you choose death. Bleed quickly, then;" he said after an instant. I forced my eyes open and saw that he was definitely frowning; he had taken a few steps back. "I must leave to destroy the Pharaoh's potent host. Lie here, and die, Great Priest."

He turned and vanished into nothingness, leaving me alone. Why did he walk away, or, knowing that I was still alive, not, right here, finish the job? Why did he not attack me in the park in the same way he did, Yugi? I wondered if perhaps he felt sad that he had to kill me. Did a shred of him still truly consider me his son?

I swallowed hard; vaguely I could taste blood in my mouth... There wasn't even so much as a throb in the wound… was I really _dying_? The world was becoming dimmer, slowly…every breath came shaky and weak; icy sweat dotted my forehead. What could I _do_? I didn't hear any voices or any other indication that Joey or Yugi or any of their friends were nearby…

 _Mokuba._ My mind rushed suddenly to him. He had seen the whole thing. What must he be _thinking_ , now…? I couldn't lie here and die; I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't let Akhenaden win. I wasn't choosing death by refusing him...

I began to try to compose ways to save myself. I took the deepest breath that I could (not very deep) and pleaded, " _Wheeler_ …!"

Impossible. My voice hovered at the sound of sibilance. Nobody would ever hear me. …dare I let my eyes close…? I couldn't feel my hands trembling anymore… silence…

" _Seto! Thank God! I wanted to come_ \- can you hear me-"

The voice sounded far away, but hands delicately slid under my arms and turned me over- despite myself, I was smiling. ...really. How could she be here, now? …no. How could I ever doubt that I would be without her for even a second. "I don't-"

"Please do not try to speak," she requested, serenely and lovingly. I felt her hands delicately slide under my arms and turn me over. She gently propped me up on her arm, so that I was somewhat sitting. I leaned my head heavily against her collarbone, eyes still closed... I was very comfortable, despite feeling cold and a stiff twinge in my chest…

"I saw the High Priest of Darkness do this to you. He is very powerful to be able to halt a shadow game, like that…" she muttered. I opened my eyes and watched my blood-soaked jacket, tuxedo vest, and button-down shirt simply vanish into nothing; I saw her finger slowly trace a line across my waist. Instantly, it was, to some extent, easier to breathe; the bleeding, for the most part, stopped. Incredible.

I sighed. "My brother watched Akhenaden do this to me. I'm worried about him. I'm sure that he thinks that I'm dead."

"Imagine how relieved that he will be when he sees you, again; I promise that you will not die, here," she assured me. "I have the power to do what it takes to save you. Does it hurt…?"

I closed my eyes again. Her finger was still tracing along my waist; I felt faintly stronger with every passing second. "No, I don't feel anything."

"I am glad. But, you referred to him as Akhenaden… you mean, Akhenaden, your father?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I do not believe that it was Akhenaden that did this to you," she said.

I opened my eyes. "What…?" I asked, bewildered. "It was definitely him…"

"I know things about Akhenaden and Akhemnankhanen," she said. "Let me tell you..."

I was interested. "Akhemnankhanen was a caring Pharaoh," she began. "He loved his people. He reigned relatively peacefully over Egypt when we were young; he also died when we were young. Your father- his brother- was, of course, a prince; it was he who made the Millennium Items. Do you know how the Millennium Items were created?"

I guessed that I had never really thought about that. "No," I replied. Feeling was starting to tingle back into my nerves; I could now sense mild twinges of pain, as well as the cold sweat that still lingered on my forehead.

"They have a terrible past," she said. "Akhemnankhanen heard about the possibility of invaders attacking Egypt, so he tried to think of a way to make something that would protect the country… Akhemnankhanen cared so much about maintaining peace, but your father knew that if he did nothing, the kingdom would be destroyed… he discovered that he could create the Millennium Items in order to fight, but at a terrible cost…"

"Terrible cost?" I asked, growing more engrossed with every passing word that she spoke; this interest overweighed the distraction of the impossible anvil in my chest and crackling pains near the wound.

"Yes. He had to sacrifice the souls of hundreds of people in order to make them. It was truly terrible- everyone in the village of Kul Elna was brutally murdered by your father's armies, and their souls sealed together to create the mysterious powers that the Millennium Items possess."

"Wow," I whispered. I hadn't known. I hadn't even guessed.

"Your father was horrified at what he was doing; he truly felt that there was no other way…" she paused for a moment. "Sacrificing that many vengeful souls ended up creating the ultimate one- Zorc. Zorc sensed weakness in your father's soul… weakness from regret, from cruelty, even though his ultimate goal was to keep Egypt at peace. So, Zorc infiltrated your father… that is what made him into the evil man that you see him as. It is not Akhenaden who is evil; it is Zorc."

I sighed. Stronger pain was starting to appear in the scar of my wound. She was still tenderly tracing her fingers along it; at least the bleeding had stopped.

"I know that it is hard for you to understand," she continued, "because you did not know that he was your father until moments before he killed me… but, please know that he loved you. You and your mother were his top priorities, next to his responsibilities as a Prince of Egypt to the people. The reason that you never knew that you were related to him was because he was afraid that friends and family members of the Kul Elna villagers would someday seek vengeance against him and Akhemnankhanen, and attack their loved ones… that is why he hid you and your mother in the village that you grew up in. Of course he could not have possibly known that someday it would be destroyed by bandits and that your mother would die."

"That's… that's really something," I muttered, face tightening with placid pain. But, I had never considered what she had said. Now, it seemed somewhat obvious: I had always sort of compared Akhenaden to Gozaburo; caring only about what he wanted his child to become, not caring about the child, himself. Perhaps this had been an unfair judgment.

"Do you know what you must do?" she asked me.

"I… well, you once seemed to destroy his soul, but I guess Zorc kept a piece of him…" I began.

But she shook her head. "That is not the right path to take, this time. Your teammate, Tristan, possesses the Millennium Key. You must get the Millennium Eye away from Akhenaden, so that he cannot defend himself. Then, you can use Tristan's Millennium Key to separate Akhenaden's soul from that of Zorc and the High Priest of Darkness."

"I see."

"There," she said blithely, after another moment of silence. "Your wound has scarred on the inside and outside. You will live normally. Does it hurt?"

"A little bit," I said, now, feeling warm and sleepy more than anything. I… liked being in her arms; I didn't want to get up. My eyes were closed.

"You will have to be careful. It is still fragile…"

"I will," I said. But, no longer nearly as numb to pain, or cold, I realized something… a sort of rigid twinge pulled at my chest; it felt unrelated to the wound…"But, something is still wrong… I don't feel right…" I opened my eyes. I felt _heavy_.

She glowered, before looking startled and quickly asking, "Wait… he stabbed you with the Millennium Rod? Definitely the Rod, not any other knife that he may have been concealing?"

"Yes," I affirmed.

The look on her face suggested that she knew that she had to do something that she desperately didn't want to do. "I… know what is wrong," she whimpered.

"You… do?" I asked, actually quite surprised- even though this new strange sensation didn't particularly feel like it came from the wound, I wasn't aware that something else could possibly be wrong with me... "What is it? Something more than the wound?"

"Yes… do you trust me?"

 _Do I trust her…?_ What kind of question was that? "Yes…" I muttered.

"I must do something… but, please understand, it may frighten you…" she began, with a sense of trepidation.

"Frighten me? I'm not afraid of anything," I assured her.

She looked in apprehension at me again for another second before saying, "Okay… perhaps it would be best for you to close your eyes, Seto…"

Wondering what the hell could possibly be going on, I closed my eyes. I heard what sounded like the rushing of wind and all of a sudden Kisara's arms were no longer under me, holding me up; after a moment, the arms felt stiff and hard… captivated by curiosity, I cracked my eyes open and was astonished to see that Kisara had assumed the form of the _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_ …! I was securely in the dragon's sturdy forearms; this was _incredible_ \- the dragon was several times larger than I was; leaning over me, like this… I never expected to encounter the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, this way…

The dragon, surprisingly gently, laid me on my back on the ground. I was completely at a loss for what was about to happen. Why did Kisara have to turn into the dragon? What was she going to _do…_

There was a blinding flash of light that took my breath; and then, I felt nothing; not the acerbic pain in my side; not the heavy weight in my chest; not even my own uneven heartbeat. I blinked several times and found myself standing; except I was level with the dragon's face, looking straight into the dragon's eyes. _How…_

I caught a glimpse of my own hands. _I could see right through them_. I was little more than a cloud; in horror I realized that I was _floating_ ; I didn't even have the chance to look down before I suddenly felt extremely heavy… _heavy_? I tried to gasp, "Kisara- I don't-"

But before I could say anything; anything at all, the mist that made up my arm started _changing-_ awestruck and confused, I watched as it appeared that more haze was spreading from my fingertips, separating from me- and suddenly I felt captured by it, felt as though it was controlling me- I could do nothing but watch as the miasma that seemed to come from my fingertips began to accumulate and take the shape of a _monster-_

I shouted aloud in fright as the monster that formed from me lunged at me suddenly- immediately, the White Dragon's tail jerked out so that it was between me and the monster, cutting it off- unable to take my eyes off of the monster, I felt the White Dragon's arm wrap protectively around my waist as much as it could before it shot forth a burst of lightning that destroyed the grotesque, pulsating monster instantly-

-another flash, and again I was lying on the cold stone ground, fighting horrendously for every breath, cold sweat on my forehead, shaking from fear- another flash, and the White Dragon was gone, and Kisara's gentle hands were sliding under my shoulders and lifting me up into her lap again, and she was wailing, " _I am sorry! I am sorry! I had to- I had to-_ " miserably; holding my shoulders securely.

What had she _done_ …? I felt significantly worse than I had, a moment ago- now, I felt more cold sweat emerge on my forehead, and the all-consuming pain, even though it was now slowly lessening, still lingered in my every nerve… now, I felt myself teetering on the edge of unconsciousness; felt my heart strain under the burden of trying to become regular again..."What… what _was_ that…" I gasped shakily. She whimpered, "I am so sorry that I hurt you," she said, "But, the Millennium Items are swarming with evil souls… you cannot let them enter your body!"

I swallowed hard, eyes closed tightly, and willed the pain to go away. What did she mean? She continued, "Have you noticed that the Millennium Eye has always drawn its possessors to evil? In Bakura's case, the needles of the Millennium Ring lodged themselves in his skin… if the Millennium Items enter your body, then, the vengeful souls do, too! I … I just had to use my white lightning to destroy a monster that had latched onto your soul… you saw…"

" _What?"_ I gasped through clenched teeth.

"Yes!" she said despondently. "That monster could have harmed your soul, later… please, forgive me for hurting you, but I did the right thing…"

"No… it's okay," I grumbled, eyes still closed, face still tightened with pain. It was, if anything, beginning to attenuate. "If… if that's what it is… then… thank you…"

"Does it still hurt?" she muttered forlornly.

"Yes…" I whispered. I didn't want to talk. I felt utterly frail.

However, despite my terrible physical condition, now, my mind was racing. The High Priest of Darkness had made the perfect move by stabbing me with my own Millennium Item. Either I would die from the wound itself, or become a pawn of one of his monsters if I were to survive the injury. Either way, he won.

Gradually, the pain died down; after a while, I felt significantly recovered; left with nothing but a placid sting in the right side of my waist."Do you feel better?" she asked later, noticing when I was more relaxed.

"Yes," I said. I felt somnolent and sick, but content in her arms. "But… "I began hesitantly, opening my eyes. "… _how_ are you able to do all of this…? How do you have the power to do all of the incredible things that you do, for me…?"

She smiled. "My power is nearly limitless because thousands of years ago, you gave me the strongest power in the world." I narrowed my eyes in perplexity; she continued, "You really don't know?"

"What could I have given you…?" I muttered.

"You gave me _love,_ Seto; something that nobody: not my parents, or anyone else in the world, ever _began_ to offer me."

My lips parted as I watched the tears surface at the corners of her eyes. Something blossomed in my heart, in that moment. I knew that I always did love her, deep down; I'd been told so…but now, now I really, actually _did_ … love her as _Seto Kaiba_ , not just as the High Priest…

"I… I do," I whispered. "I love you."

She smiled at me. "I know," she said, looking so grateful- she kissed the top of my forehead. I closed my eyes. She continued, "And I, as well, love you more than anything on Earth. But, for right now, let us worry about your health…" I felt her arms enfold tighter around my shoulders; my forehead pressed against the side of her neck. "Rest with me, for just a moment, my precious boy…"

The pain in my side was miniscule, just another annoyance; but, I was so distant from that- I was in a completely different world; one that hung right next to the empty one, but one of a completely opposite demeanor. I was floating, free of the shackles that Akhenaden had put on my heart- floating, suspended by the soft wind that was the hands of the woman whom I loved…


	25. Nasturtium

_**Chapter Twenty-Five** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

Our group was silent. All we could hear was the sound of our own footsteps until we reached a fork in the chambers, both paths of which had lights strung up along the walls.

"Why the hell couldn't Pegasus have just marked the right way up, damnit," Tristan seethed. We all stood thoughtfully for a moment before I said, "Do you think we should split up…?"

Yugi frowned. "I don't like to think that any of us would get attacked. In smaller groups, we're more vulnerable…"

"No… I think we should split up, maybe," Tristan said. "Mokuba, can you use the Ring to detect our locations? If you guys find the right way, come find us and bring us back your way… if we find the right way, then can you use the Ring to follow us?"

"That's… that's a good idea…" I said, dumbfounded.

"Okay…" Téa said hesitantly. I said, "Tristan and me will go this way. Yeah?"

"Sure," Tristan agreed lamely, eyes following my finger pointing to the path to the right.

"Good luck," Yugi said, starting down the left path. Téa and Mokuba followed him. "You too, man," I saluted him, and then Tristan and I went down the right hallway.

This path was winding and oddly-decorated… I walked with my head to the side, observing the paintings on the walls. Were they telling stories of Pharaohs that came from even before Atem's time, or were they legends, or prophecies? I couldn't understand many of them… why did none of them have toilets, didn't the pharaohs have to shit in the afterlife…?

I followed Tristan up another short flight of stairs. "What do you think we're looking for, really?" he asked.

"Well, we know that the Tablet for the Millennium Items is what you use to summon Zorc, so I bet the High Priest of Darkness might hang out there… even so, we have to destroy it. That's what we got to do."

"Well, yeah," Tristan muttered hesitantly. "But the High Priest of Darkness is trying to get all of the Items together so that he can summon Zorc, right? Zorc's built himself up enough and now he just needs to be set free, right?"

"I bet. Zorc could summon himself eventually but having all of the items around would just make it happen faster."

"So do you think the High Priest of Darkness will try to target us again? He wants our Items… that's what he wanted last time, right?"

He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at me nervously as I considered his question. "Yeah, that's what he wanted when we saw him first… but I don't know if he'd come try to fight us again now. He's probably thinkin' of another plan or somethin' because truly, he almost lost the fight with Kaiba, and he knows well that we all can summon awesome monsters too… so, no, I bet he won't try to fight us out of the blue unless he's got somethin' real organized..."

Tristan frowned and shrugged and said, "Good, damnit," and then kept walking forward. My mind drifted back to Téa and Yugi and Mokuba. I wondered if they had found the right path. Who knew if Tristan and I were going the right way?

Tristan was peering into rooms as we passed them. One in particular made him gasp aloud and freeze in his tracks. "What?" I asked worriedly.

"Oh, _man_ …" Tristan mumbled quietly. He pointed a shaking finger at the doorway. "It's… it's _Kaiba._ "

" _What?"_ I demanded. I rushed over to where he was and looked into the room that he was standing in front of. The ground swirled under my feet and I felt stunned and sad. Kaiba's body was in this room, on the floor, in the middle of the room… this is where Pegasus had brought him, after leaving us?

The world was silent and still as I walked into the empty, open room, Tristan following me. Kaiba was wearing different clothes, somehow… a white, button-down shirt and white slacks… not feeling the emotional capacity to question this, I kept walking… finally I reached him and knelt down. He was lying kind of on his side, completely motionless, eyes closed. His hair kind of fell over his face and he was stark white. I gulped and looked around the room. There was a giant puddle of blood not far from where he was.

Tristan knelt down next to me, too. His eyes were huge as he stared at the puddle of blood nearby- he muttered, "This _actually happened_ …? You…" trembling, he reached forward to touch Kaiba's sleeve- he couldn't do it. He jerked his arm back and swallowed hard and whimpered, "This… this is Kaiba. _Seto Kaiba_ , right here."

I looked up at him. His face was completely white. "Yes," I said, quietly, firmly.

"That's Kaiba. You know, the giant asshole who's a giant asshole who has given us so much crap over the years but now we like him because we ate all of his food. Right there. That's him?" he demanded, voice getting higher and higher with every word.

" _Yes_ , Tristan," I said, gentle yet firm.

Tristan stared at me for a second and then looked back down at Kaiba and then looked at me again and said, "Dude. _Dude._ One… one of our guys was _killed_ , man- holy shit- _holy shit, Joey_!"

I stayed silent as Tristan has his little moment. He calmed himself down and wiped his forehead after a minute and then sighed miserably. "Is… is this where it happened…? Do you recognize this place… are we going in circles…?"

"No," I whispered. "Pegasus… or, rather, the High Priest of Darkness… must'a brought him here."

There was a horrible tight twinge in my chest as I was kneeling here next to him. His eyes were closed gently… it was tragic how _peaceful_ he looked. I sighed miserably before gently picking him up. He was limp and heavy… and still _warm._ I had to choke back burning tears. Tristan whispered, "What are you _doing_ …?" I said, "He needs to say goodbye to his brother."

I carried him through the hallway that led back to where we'd left Mokuba and Yugi and Téa. I sighed again, throat tight, and said, "You know, Kaiba… I really was just starting to actually like you. I know we're… well, total assholes to each other, but… well, I kind of always kind of considered you a friend. So did Yugi. You've done some pretty cool stuff for us…"

Tristan was looking sadly at me. He sighed heavily. Did he have anything to say? Tears biting at my eyes, I whispered, "It's a shame… a shame to lose you, man…"

I was saved walking in miserable silence anymore because I reached the end of the hallway. Téa, Yugi and Mokuba were all here- their backs were to me and they were talking about something, but it appeared that they'd hit a dead end going their way and had come back here to either wait for Tristan and me, or to follow us... "Mokuba," I whimpered, forcing my own tears back.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

I was jerked out of my mild stupor, vaguely listening to what Yugi and Téa were talking about, when I heard Joey say my name. I turned around to ask him what he wanted, but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him… _he was carrying Seto's body…_

" _Where… where did you find…"_ I began shakily, running up to him, but he whispered, "You should say goodbye," softly and sadly.

Tears began to burn at my eyes again. I nodded, trying to be strong, knowing that I needed this... Joey set him down in front of me, and I pulled him into my lap. "He's… _warm_ ," I whispered, heart breaking.

I heard Joey mutter, "come on…" to Tristan, Téa and Yugi- I appreciated the privacy that he wanted to give me now. Their footsteps echoed to a room that was nearby.

My pain was immeasurable and infinite. I had never felt like this before. Life seemed meaningless and hopeless, now- nothing mattered anymore. I clung desperately to his body. I didn't want to say goodbye. I didn't want this to be the last time that I saw my big brother. If I let go of him, then I had nothing.

But, then I noticed something… my forehead was against his neck, and I could feel something… something like a _pulse_ … but…

I lifted my head, afraid to believe that I had actually felt that; afraid to face such disappointment again… I put two shaky fingers under his jaw line and gasped aloud when I felt what was undeniably a heartbeat in his neck.

" _H… he… his heart is beating…"_ I whimpered to myself, floored; then, I shouted, "… _y…you guys_ …!"

I heard their footsteps return; Yugi tremulously asked, "What…? Are you okay?" and I repeated, "I… you guys, I can feel his heart beating…"

Joey's eyebrows raised and lips parted; Tristan muttered, "Huh?" All four of them walked the few feet over to where I was. Now that we were looking at him, like this, it was obvious that he _was_ actually breathing… very lightly, but… _he was still alive…_

I looked up and saw that everyone was looking sadly down at me. We were all thinking the same thing: how much longer would this last? He wasn't bleeding anymore, which I knew meant that his heart wasn't working very well… but, maybe it was good that now… now, he would die in my arms instead of with the High Priest of Darkness…

It made these moments all the much more important, all the more precious… like, every second that went by was one more that I wouldn't have, again. Even if he wasn't to speak to me, at least his _soul_ was still in my grasp… I went back to hugging his shoulders tightly. Another long bit of time went by… his pulse didn't fade…

" _Mokuba!"_ Tristan shouted suddenly. I looked up, startled, but that momentary surprise was nothing compared to the shock I felt when I saw that _Seto's hand was moving_ \- slowly, he lifted his hand to his forehead. I gasped _, "Seto?"_ shakily.

 _Amazingly_ … amazingly, his face tightened for a moment and … _his eyes opened_. He looked up at me, looking hazy and tired and a little bit puzzled… he whispered, "Mokuba…"

I had to be strong. I had to be strong. I desperately fought choking tears as I heard Téa whisper, _"Kaiba!"_ in shock… _I was actually going to get to speak to him one last time_ … what should I _say…?_ I didn't want to scare him… if he didn't know what had happened, or if he didn't remember… maybe it was best that he never knew…

"Big brother," I whimpered, the best that I could, "I love you…"

His eyes narrowed. He was clearly confused. He began to say, "What's going on," but he stopped when he saw that he was wearing a different white shirt… it reminded him of the attack. His eyes widened and he gasped, " _oh, no…!"_

I desperately tried to think of what to say to comfort him, but he shakily gasped, "No, no, this… this isn't right…" …except, his voice was getting _stronger_ … he shifted in my arms and planted his hands on the ground and _… pushed himself up…?_ _He was sitting in front of me_ …? " _Seto…!"_ I gasped, unable to believe it.

He was kind of out-of-breath and shaky, but he looked like he urgently needed to explain something… between sharp breaths he pleaded, "Mokuba… no, I know what you're thinking… oh, no… please, you must understand…"

What could he possibly need to explain, now…? Did he not have much time to explain it… he looked kind of frantic… Joey and Tristan, clearly as shocked as I was, were hovering over us, hands on Seto's shoulders, helping him stay sitting-

"Seto, it's… it's okay…" I whimpered, but he begged, "No… no, that's the thing- it _is_ okay-" He reached forward, leaving Joey and Tristan's grasps, and tightly put his arms around me, muttering, "Oh, my brother… I'm so, so sorry…"

I didn't understand. "I know what you're thinking…" he stopped hugging me and instead put his hands on both sides of my face and looked desperately into my eyes. "But, it's not true. I'm healed. I'm not leaving you," he said.

… _what…?_ How… _how_ could this _possibly_ be true…? He… I was looking at his face; he was pale and looked tired and yet, there was the same light in his eyes…

He went back to hugging me. …I didn't know what to do. Dare… _dare_ I believe that this was actually happening? I had _watched_ him get wounded… how could he _possibly_ have been healed? Was this some kind of horrible, sick, cruel trick; Zorc's pitiless method of weakening me by making me think for a moment that these warm arms were actually, seriously those of my brother, who was supposed to be dead…?

But… but he was …hugging me, like he always did… I could _feel_ that he was here… my hands were trembling. I wanted more than anything in the world to put my arms around him. _I wanted this to be true._ I-

" _I know a man named Pegasus._

_He's a foul and filthy pig._

_He smells like the pits;_

_He rolls around in shit._

_I don't know why his ego's so big."_

And in that second, I knew. I knew that this was real; that he was really here; that my big brother wasn't dead and that he was really with me. That song… that melody that we had created together; him, me and Kisara… that song came from the depths of his soul… and no doppelganger monster could imitate that…

Every negative feeling that I had ever experienced in my entire life vanished on the spot. Gripped completely by the precious relief, I didn't even bother to try to hold back my tears, because these tears were of _indescribable_ joy- I allowed myself to burst into crying and throw my arms around his neck.

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

What.

_What?_

As Kaiba finally shakily stood up and Mokuba contained himself, I stood in dumbfounded shock before I walked over to Kaiba and grabbed the corner of his shirt and jerked it up and saw his wound- it was a thin scar that was like six inches long or something. It… it looked painful and gross and stuff but when it came down to it, it didn't look _so_ bad… Kaiba's eyebrows raised and I dropped the edge of his shirt. "You get your stupid liver sliced in half and all you need is, like, a _band-aid?_ Dude, stupid crap has happened to me all the time- I was declared brain-dead by a card game! How do you survive _this_ crap?"

"I don't believe that it was necessary for my scientists to declare you brain-dead," he replied. "That diagnosis didn't surprise anyone."

Through his tears, Mokuba chuckled. I groaned. _Un-effing-believable_! _He wasn't dead_? We'd gone through all of that depression and he _wasn't dead_? He was a damn _expert_ at making me _miserable_! "I'd say somethin' about how it's good to have you back, but…"

But it was then that I realized something: I… he had just _insulted me…_ and he would insult me again, someday- he was _alive_ to insult me again-

I couldn't control it. Tears began to pour from my eyes and I wailed, " _Oh yeah? Well at least I'm not a damn asshole!_ '"

Kaiba's eyes widened and he was completely speechless- and I buried my face in my hands and wept bitterly.


	26. A Rotten Bloom

_**Chapter Twenty-Six** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

"Seto!" Mokuba gasped suddenly and stuffily. Kaiba, surprised, looked back down at him. "I've got to tell you…" Now, he seemed very excited. "I wish you could have seen! We got into a fight with _Diabound_ … lots of them!... and I was able to summon _the Magician of Black Chaos_ to defeat it!"

"Magician of Black Chaos?" Kaiba asked, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Mokuba shrieked energetically, not really crying anymore. "I was able to summon him from the stone slab and kill the Diabound. It was awesome!"

"That's… incredible," Kaiba muttered, clearly stunned and impressed. "Oh… yes…" He bent down and quickly kissed Mokuba on the forehead. "Happy birthday."

Finding his voice, Yugi stammered, "You're… you're _okay?_ Really? Joey said…"

"It takes more than a 5,000-year-old sadistically malevolent spirit's most prevailing monsters to kill me," Kaiba said, frowning.

He and Yugi stood in silence for a moment. Yugi's mouth was gaping and Kaiba was frowning. Then, Yugi laughed jovially and Kaiba smirked and held his hand out and Yugi took it and shook it. "I should have known," Yugi said happily.

Yugi let go of Kaiba's hand and frowned and announced, "So, I guess we kind of all have realized that we're in the underground chambers in Kul Elna, right?"

Yup. What I hadn't known was that this place was so big. But, the tablet for the Millennium Items had to be nearby.

"We need a plan," Téa said. "We kind of know what we have to do..."

"Yeah, Zorc," Tristan sighed. "He's here. So we have to beat him."

"You summon him by puttin' all of the Millennium Items in the stone slab..." I began, but Tristan said, "We actually want to _summon_ him? No way, I say we just destroy the stone slab..."

"I don't know if that'd really stop him," Yugi said. "The stone slab kind of was destroyed already... you remember what happened to it after we said goodbye to Atem... whole place collapsed. Pegasus' people had to dig for the stone, but they found it unharmed. I think as long as Zorc is out there, he'll find ways to fix the stone slab and summon himself."

"Zorc's been talkin' to Pegasus," I said pointedly. "The Eye was always the evil son of a bitch. You know, back then, Akhenaden had it, and everything. Even now the High Priest of Darkness is controllin' Pegasus. I think Pegasus's been under Zorc's spell the whole time."

"Might explain this or that," Téa said sarcastically. "Maybe Pegasus was able to break away from it sometimes, but..."

"What he did to you in the park, Yuge- that's definitely the act of someone who wants Zorc summoned. Zorc'd like to summon himself, yeah...?" I asked. "But, Yuge, you think we have to put all of the Items in the stone and then when Zorc appears we fight him?"

"Yeah," Yugi replied hesitantly. "It's the only way we can get him out here without Pegasus being affected too bad too..."

"It'll be good if we get the Eye away from Pegasus..." Tristan began, and I said, "It's what we gotta do. That's the deal. That's what's lettin' the High Priest of Darkness summon monsters."

"We've been wandering around down here for hours," Téa said. "Even now that we know what we have to find, who knows how lost we are...!"

"We still have to only follow the lighting lines that Pegasus' team has put up," Yugi suggested. "They can't go too much more... we know which way we came from, right? We have to be close."

"Yeah, I'll buy that," I shrugged.

"Good. Then I think I know what we have to do... summon some monsters so that they're here even before we need them, then put all of the Items down in the slab, and then once Zorc appears, fight him. I can summon Slifer, Ra and Obelisk... Horakhty defeated Zorc in Atem's shadow game, so it should work here, too, right?"

"It's gotta. Zorc isn't the strongest thing in the world," I bragged.

"What are we going to do about the Eye or Rod?" Mokuba asked. "We don't know where Pegasus is..."

"He'll find us," I said slowly. "I think he wants to fight us, because he wants our Items, because he wants Zorc summoned. He'll show up, definitely."

"Especially if we have all of the items in the same room, together," Yugi agreed. "We should make it easy for him."

"Will we end up in the main room?" Mokuba asked. "The one with the door and the big hourglasses where we got the items, first?"

Yugi nodded, and pointed towards one of the paths that was lit by the lights. "So, you guys found that other path to lead to the dead-end? Then, this must be the right way."

United and on fire, we all walked through the path that Tristan and I had not earlier gone through- the ground started to angle up, and it got steeper, and steeper- we finally ran up a last flight of stairs and I felt the temperature rise significantly. We weren't so far underground anymore, and that must mean we were-

bingo. Back in the room where the stone slab was. Back at the surface. I looked around this room again. It was quiet now- the cracked stone slab was in the middle of the room, the broken doors were nearby, and the big hourglasses were by the stairs, too- but, no people. No Pegasus. Just stones and lights.

"Nice," Tristan muttered. "Okay, so, summon monsters?"

"Yeah," Téa said firmly. "Don't forget, some of us need to summon weaker monsters that can have spells put on them too-"

"Yeah, got it," I agreed. Mokuba, Yugi, Tristan, Téa and I held up our Items. I heard stone slabs rise from the ground, and then, in front of all of us, appeared the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Gearfried the Iron Knight, Jinzo, Battle Ox, Dark Magician, Judge Man and Deep Sea Warrior.

"Got it," Tristan said, saluting Yugi.

And instantly- out of nowhere- a single beam went straight through the heart of Judge Man- Tristan shrieked in pain aloud and Yugi screamed, _"There! It's Pegasus!"_

He'd condensed out of nowhere- he was holding the Millennium Rod in one hand and was pulling at the Eye with the other. "You will all die here tonight," he growled. "I don't need this man anymore. I've sucked enough power from him and from his monsters."

With vicious force he ripped the Eye from Pegasus' skull and laughed as blood poured down Pegasus' face- Mokuba and Téa both shrieked aloud and I couldn't tear my gaze from him Pegasus then crumpled to the ground- and, a thick black smoke curled above him, still holding the items- it came together and immediately I recognized the High Priest of Darkness.

He jammed the eye back into his own socket and then waved the Millennium Rod. Instantly his monster arsenal appeared by the tens- ghostly, black knights that were riding ghostly, black camels and horses-

" _Fight!"_ I screamed at Red-Eyes, wasting no time-

But his monsters were plentiful and replaceable- and also, _strong_! I watched helplessly as they pinned Battle Ox to the ground and grotesquely slit its throat- Tristan shrieked aloud and grasped at his neck- _"Kill it, Red-Eyes!"_ I yelled, and Red-Eyes blast a fireball at the monster that killed Battle Ox- but, they just kept coming- I focused on Red-Eyes' attacks but behind me I heard Yugi shout in pain, and Téa shout in pain, and knew how we were failing, how we couldn't summon strong enough monsters fast enough- _We've got to do something different,_ I thought frantically. _If we don't do something we're all gonna be killed…_

Then I remembered. Zorc and all of his followers were strong… but Bakura could control them. Bakura controlled Zorc himself with the use of hourglasses…

Hourglasses. There were three of them in the game that Bakura played with Yugi. Yugi had told us everything: so… if Bakura could control even Zorc with hourglasses… well, maybe I could use them well, too. I held a Millennium Item, too. Bakura wasn't stronger than I was.

The hourglasses nearby… were they the real hourglasses that could control Zorc's minions? _"Flame swordsman!"_ I shouted, thrusting the Millennium Scales in his direction. " _Get over here! Your target is this way!"_

Flame Swordsman blasted its attack in the complete opposite direction of where Zorc's monster was standing. _"What are you doing?"_ Téa shrieked at me. But, I knew what I was doing.

There was a big, loud crash as the wall crumbled. I shielded my face from debris that blew at me. But, as I lifted my hand and leapt backwards, suddenly, the air became stale, and it was hard to breathe… I could feel my hair floating around as I moved…

Everything was completely …silent. All I could hear was the frantic pounding of my own heart in my ears. I was out-of-breath and a little bit startled, but this was exactly what I wanted to have happen. I turned around to face everyone else.

Everything was still. Zorc and his monsters were standing completely still. Pegasus was still crumpled to the ground, not moving. Everyone looked stunned… they could still move, and so could all of our monsters. I couldn't believe it. _It had worked._ It had worked exactly like I hoped it would: Bakura, when using the power of the hourglasses, had only frozen his enemy. All of his pawns could still move. And, it worked the same for me.

"J…Joey," Yugi gasped. "What did you _do…?"_

"I stopped time," I muttered. "Remember…? In the shadow game, this was the room where Zorc's hourglasses were held. I knocked this one over. It stopped time."

Téa and Mokuba were looking up at Zorc in disbelief. Tristan was staring through the hole that was now in the wall. There were the hourglasses- one of them was on its side. No sand was passing through either side… meaning that time was not flowing.

"Wheeler," Kaiba gasped after a moment, clearly unable to believe it. "That's… _that's brilliant…!"_ Tristan laughed and came and stood next to him. "He does have those moments every now and then!" I grinned widely and said "You guys don't give me enough credit," sarcastically. Kaiba was genuinely smiling at me- he knew that I had just made it so that we could do exactly what needed to be done.

Téa said, "Do we need to get the Millennium Eye away from Zorc Necrophades now?" Yugi turned to face her and said, "Yes. But, we can't fight with time stopped- I'm going to go remove the Eye. As soon as I do, Mokuba- you need to have your monster lift the hourglass back into a standing position. Okay?"

He gulped and nodded. Yugi continued, "Yeah, and that's when, Tristan and Joey… you guys need to go into the High Priest of Darkness' mind and separate him from Akhenaden. That's what we have to do, right, Kaiba?"

"You got it, Yugi," Tristan said, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Wait, Yugi…" Kaiba muttered. "Let me remove the Eye. That's my job."

Yugi frowned and said, "Okay, if you're up to doing that…"

"What will happen to Akhenaden? You know… the good Akhenaden?" Téa asked uncertainly.

"He will die," Kaiba said slowly.

There was another moment of brief silence, before Téa continued, "Are you okay with that?"

Kaiba frowned. "It's about time that he goes to the afterlife. It's right for him. He should have died thousands of years ago."

Mokuba looked up at him. Kaiba continued, "Everything that has happened with Zorc… it's really not Akhenaden's fault. I've seen the truth. Yugi… long ago, my father loved his country as much as Atem's did. He did many terrible things when he created the Millennium Items, but all he really wanted was for the kingdom to prosper. Really."

"Okay," Yugi said, smiling at him reassuringly. "So, then, Téa … summon your trap monster to hold Zorc's monster back. Then, since he won't have an Item, he can't defend himself- we can kill the true High Priest of Darkness easily when he appears… you know, when he's separate from Akhenaden. We can do this, you guys."

"And…Zorc, himself…?" I asked uncertainly.

"We can summon him…" Yugi began hesitantly. "Yeah. Once the High Priest is out of the way, we can put all of the Items in the tablet. Then I'll summon Horakhty and she'll kill him. It'll be easy. It'll be easy."

"Get ready, then," Kaiba said, walking forward and approaching the High Priest of Darkness. We all crowded around the High Priest of Darkness and watched what he was going to do. He sort of braced himself and reached forward and fit his fingers around the edges of the carvings of the Millennium Eye and pulled hard. Blood rushed from the High Priest of Darkness' face and dripped down Kaiba's hand, but the Eye seemed to come surprisingly easily… he stepped back, Eye in his hand. He was trembling slightly, but said, "Okay," shakily. He took the Millennium Rod too.

Mokuba commanded the Dark Magician to pick up and lift the hourglass. As soon as the first grain of sand fell from the top, a sort of shockwave seemed to spread from the room- and, in an instant, everything started moving again. The High Priest of Darkness grasped at his face and howled in pain. I grabbed Tristan's forearm and together we leapt forward- there was a flash of light, and my breath caught in my chest-


	27. Cyclamen

_**Chapter Twenty-Seven** _

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

It was the strangest place I'd ever been in. It was ice-cold, and …empty. Completely empty. It was as dim as dawn. The ground beneath my feet was yellow sand, and the sky above our heads was nothing but a swirling purple mass of clouds. Lightning burst here and there but otherwise this place was completely quiet. No wind, no animals, just nothing.

"This is the room of his soul, huh…" Tristan thought out loud. "It ain't a room. It's like …desolate…"

He was right. It was a void. It was pretty much a whole lot of nothing. Sand, sand, sand, and then clouds, and darkness. I didn't like it. The air was thick and heavy and I was uncomfortable just being here. The silence was frightening and I was startled whenever the lightning struck.

"What's this," Tristan muttered. He bent over and picked something out of the sand. "Dirty."

He brushed off the sand, and we looked at it together. It was a piece of parchment- a crumpled, yellowed, torn piece of paper. It had two people drawn on it in really light, fading ink: a woman, and a boy. The details were pretty good- I almost would have believed it was a photograph, maybe.

"Boy looks familiar, don't he," Tristan muttered. I gasped, "Dude, I bet it's _Kaiba_ \- Akhenaden was his dad, remember? I bet this is like, the little piece of Kaiba and his mom that this guy's got."

"Wow," Tristan said thoughtfully. "Isn't that something."

"Come on, dude." I remembered what we were here to do. "We gotta separate Akhenaden from the High Priest."

"What's what?" he asked confusedly. "Which parts do we tear apart? It's all the same…"

"I guess the yucky-lookin' sky is what's the High Priest," I thought aloud. "Let's try to hold onto that."

We raised the Scales and Key together. _"Unlock this mind!"_ Tristan yelled.

Instantly the ground shook and the sky roared- I shouted in fear and surprise but Tristan yelled at me, " _No! It's working! Separate them, Joey!"_

" _Akhenaden!"_ I shouted.

It was deafening- the sky was ripping aloud and the ground was twisting- I grabbed Tristan's arm- "Get us out of here, man," I begged him-

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

Joey and Tristan both fell onto their backs on the stone ground in the temple. It had only been a millisecond in real time, but we all knew what they'd done- they both leapt up and away from the High Priest, and then, the sound of ripping tore through the air, deafening us all- but, I bolted forward and caught the limp figure that had fallen off to the left. This man that I held- this gasping, wheezing man- was not the High Priest- the High Priest had flown feet away, cursing; a different entity, a different soul entirely-

" _Now!"_ I shouted; Yugi and Mokuba both shouted commands; I could see beams of light- an attack from Dark Magician- the High Priest was withering and writhing-

Silence; utter silence; until, Yugi breathlessly demanded, "Give me your items, everyone- I'll put them in-"

I watched him pick the Rod off of the ground where I'd tossed it, and then wait for everyone else to hand over theirs; carefully, he set each into the inept holes in the tablet. The tablet had been damaged on the day that Atem was released, but the items still fit- once they were all in, Yugi commanded, "Stand back, you guys-"

The air instantly grew thick and heavy; the darkness was tangible; light and warmth were sucked out of every crevasse of the room: the air, the walls, the floors, my hands, my soul-

Like a snake coiling out of a pot, Zorc sickeningly blossomed from the tablet- the cold washed over the room and my eyes couldn't adjust to the darkness- my heart was racing wildly- I'd experienced this consternation, before- this sickening monster, whose black, black skin visibly crawled with cruelty and red eyes bore no clemency-

He burst through the ceiling of the tomb, revealing the tremulous night sky that was beleaguered by unnatural clouds and lightning- everyone shielded their faces from the plummeting rubble of the ceiling. The lights that Pegasus' crew had strung up all exploded, which plunged us all into darkness that was only at the mercy of the faint moon and slowly rising sun- but, even the moon and stars were quickly becoming absorbed by Zorc's unbelievable might-

Zorc let out a roar that shook the world; the drowning winds blew with a might that made me fear that my skin would be torn off of my bones-not even a shout could escape any of us- but then, over it all, Yugi bellowed, " _No! Horakhty! Serve the wishes of Pharaoh Atem!"_

Magnificent, magnificent light pierced my aching eyes and made the hollow room burst with energy- an illuminated woman, beaming with the energy of the sun- tall as Zorc, opposing him in every way; as hideous as he was, statuesque; as inexorable as he was, kind- one outstretched hand laid on Zorc's forearm and he shrieked that horrible scream that pierced my skull- clutching Akhenaden's limp form; I could hardly hear my own prayers and pleading in my head over the roar and rumble of the ground and shaking building-

I cracked my eyes open and looked up. Everyone was here; all looking skyward, and I did the same. Horakhty was smiling down at all of us, glowing with glory and veneration- in a stunningly intelligent and loving voice she whispered, "You always amaze me, Chosen Soul," towards Yugi; then, smiled directly at me. She said nothing then; only, looked around the room once more. "I am proud," she continued, approvingly. "What wonderful hands to have our precious Items in. I wish you all blessed lives."

Then, the light and the majesty vanished; we were alone, again, in this small, stale, now dark room. The ceiling had been torn clean off; the stars blinked overhead, becoming overtaken by the light of early dawn. I felt the fresh breeze touch the top of my head. Nobody said anything.

"Set," then, came a whisper. I apprehensively looked down and right into Akhenaden's face, illuminated only by the dim dawn sun.

Akhenaden… looked like the _Akhenaden_ that I had seen in my memories. The man in my arms was weak and beaten and dying; but, there was a sort of warm look in his eye- something that violently juxtaposed his ice-cold, dead face; something that I wasn't used to seeing- somehow, I recognized it as a father's love, buried deep in the rotting wrinkles of his crumbling skin… regardless, visible. He chuckled lightly and whispered, "Your face… is different…"

I gulped. He was _smiling._ "No. No, it isn't." His hand was shaking and it was clasped gently around my upper arm- "…Set …" he gasped, clearly fighting for every breath. I had to force my face straight. What could I possibly say to him? "You… you have saved the last shred …of my soul that could possibly have been… salvaged…"

"…I'm sorry that it has to be like this, Akhenaden," I responded reticently.

His lip twitched. It was hard to look into his face… his hair fell messily over his empty left eye socket, which was still dripping blood; but, I could tell that, once, he had been a handsome man... he whispered between shaky, wheezing breaths, "No, I …I am the sorry one… I am sorry for everything that… that I put you through. I am sorry that I …that I killed the woman whom …you loved. I am sorry that I betrayed…everything that was important…to all of us… but I am mostly sorry that… we never got to know each other as father and son..."

He smiled that awful cracked smile and his hand shakily came up to my face; the feeling of his rotting skin on my cheek, on my flesh… somehow tenderly… left me breathless. He muttered, "You… you look so much like your beautiful mother…"

My lips parted and eyes narrowed. Why were my eyes wet? He whispered, "There is so much… that I wish to say to you, Set. I never… I never told you that I was… I was always so _proud_ … so very proud of how you came, completely by yourself, to… to be the Pharaoh's High Priest, from the village boy that… I left you as…"

"Proud…" I muttered, allowing him a weak smile in return. He sighed airily. "You made… all of my dreams come true… Great Priest, Great King, wielder of great power…my son… I love you from the …bottom of my heart…"

…could I say that I loved him…? … I softly said one thing that was true: "I forgive you, Akhenaden…I'm glad that I was able to save you."

That disintegrating smile- fading, before his good eye closed, and he fell still. In that moment, his years of torture and captivity- suffering, regret- ended; evaporated, with the final words of love; one floating speck in the sea of blackness that had been his life…

I sighed. Was there pain in my heart? I stood up shakily, just barely able to carry him. Everyone was staring sadly and silently at me; I muttered to them, "I will find someplace to lay him at peace."

Nobody said anything; nobody moved. The doors near the front of the room were destroyed and crumbling; but, I gently set his body down in front of it. I stared down at him lying there, for a moment- did he look satisfied, or peaceful?

My waist was on fire from the strain of carrying him; but, I still had a job to do: I forced my aching body to move one of the larger stones to cover him. I knew no pain; I cared nothing for the warm feeling of blood that dripped gently from my wound; I knew only the sound of crunching stone as the slab moved. In not much time, I created a tiny sort of tent out of stone, right in front of the doors.

"There," I whispered, breathless; I wiped dripping sweat from my forehead and leaned on the stone, finally experiencing the veracity of that my wound had re-opened somewhat and was leaking blood. I pressed my hand to it, pressing my shirt to it- it stung violently and mired my breath- but, I had to tell him, he had to know- "The doors are right there. You don't have far to go."

…I stood up slowly, breathing choppily, hand firmly pressed to the sodden hole in my gut. It was done; it was the best that could be done. The sun was rising quickly; the room was no longer dark, and I surveyed my endeavor, proud. Mokuba had silently approached me while I'd worked; he looked up at me wretchedly and worriedly and whimpered, "Big brother…"

I gave him a reassuring nod. "I'm okay," I told him, sturdily. "This is how it has to be. It's much better for him. He's been looking for this release for thousands of years."

He took my free hand. Maybe he could see the tears that bit at my eyes. I cried none of physical aliment- Akhenaden's last smile had been so much like that kindness displayed proudly in the photograph of my real father.


	28. The Safest Vase

_**Chapter Twenty-Eight** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

Tristan was propping up a very battered and drowsy Pegasus. Arm around his shoulder, they walked together. Pegasus was starting to regain consciousness. His hand gripped at his bleeding face… I couldn't bear to look at his face for very long, for fear of catching a glimpse of his empty eye socket…

Pegasus groaned painstakingly and took his arm away from around Tristan's shoulder. "Thank you, Tristan-boy," he said stuffily. He looked up and gasped when he saw Seto and Yugi, and stumbled over to us. His hair was falling in front of his face… he looked truly ragged and messed-up.

"Kaiba-boy, Yugi-boy…" he gasped, head hanging and one hand clapped onto Seto's shoulder and one onto Yugi's. I saw Seto's lip curl at the bloody handprint that Pegasus was leaving on his shirt. "I… I…"

To all of our surprise, he burst into tears. " _I'm so sorry!_ I couldn't control the High Priest of Darkness at all! I was aware of everything that he did… I saw what he _did_ to you both- Yugi, you in the park… Kaiba, you with the Millennium Rod's blade… _you're even still bleeding, now_ \- oh, no, no, _no_ … please, forgive me…! _It wasn't my fault!"_

"I know," Seto and Yugi both said.

Pegasus looked up at them, stunned. "…What?" he whispered.

"I know that it wasn't you," Seto repeated, removing his shirt so that he could quickly tie it around his waist and have it act as kind of a makeshift bandage. I didn't see much more blood, but... Yugi shrugged and assured him, "Yeah, we know you couldn't really help it."

Pegasus swallowed hard and removed his hands from their shoulders. "Wha… really? You're not… mad?"

"No," Seto replied lazily, finishing tying the shirt. Yugi shrugged again.

Pegasus frowned, as though he didn't believe it. "But… but, you… Yugi, I believe you. Thank you… thank you, very much, Yugi-boy. But, Kaiba… you nearly got _stabbed to death_! You're… really… _really_ not mad?" he asked, almost frantically.

"I'm not thrilled with the person who did it; I understand that that man is not you," Seto said, raising an eyebrow.

This didn't seem to console Pegasus, who, beside himself, shrieked, "But… but, I… that's not like you, Kaiba-boy… you really don't have some sort of horrible revenge plan up your sleeves?"

"No," Seto said, now looking like he didn't know what he should say or do.

Pegasus now got angry. "I don't believe it."

Seto shrugged and said, "I don't know what you want me to say." Then, he turned to Yugi. "Yugi…" he began, but Pegasus interjected, "I want you to quit lying! Because I know you're going to do something horrible to me! I _know_ you!"

I could tell that Seto was now getting irritated. "Pegasus," he said firmly, "Don't get me wrong- I have complete abhorrence for every trait that you possess. You infuriate me in ways that I didn't even know a person could be infuriated in. I lie awake at night thinking of how much I wholly and entirely loathe every _budge_ that you make. However, much as I cringe at the idea of being anywhere _near_ you, I am not angry with _you_ about my wound. _Really_."

"You _liar!"_ Pegasus shrieked. Everyone in the room looked a little bit uncomfortable. I felt that way, too. Was Pegasus messed-up in the head? Had he finally gone completely insane?

Pegasus's hands were on his hips angrily. Seto looked around at everyone in the room for a moment before sighing and approaching Pegasus. "Just tell me about your evil plan in advance," Pegasus said.

Seto shrugged again and socked Pegasus in the stomach. Pegasus dropped to his knees, gasping in pain. "If it makes you feel better," Seto said, lazily.

I laughed. "I love you so much, Seto," I said cheerfully. He smiled down at me before turning to Pegasus again and saying, "Oh… you owe me a sixteen-thousand-dollar tuxedo-and-jewelry set…"

Pegasus coughed and moaned, clutching his stomach; Tristan and Joey hurried over to help him up.

We recognized this room well enough; we blindly followed the string of Pegasus' team's lights through the last hallways, back to the exit of the temple. It was still quite early, so the sun didn't blister our eyes- still, the full fresh air and real winds that hadn't dipped into the destroyed room were such breaths of life, compared to the stale and rotten air that we'd been inhaling for hours.

There was a stretch limousine just outside. I was surprised to see it there, and even more surprised to see Ishizu Ishtar getting out of the front passenger seat and running up to us. Part of me realized that I hadn't thought at all about how we would possibly get back to Domino City after this- I was extremely relieved to see that we wouldn't have to wait.

"Miss Ishtar!" Yugi shouted as she stopped feet from us.

She was out-of-breath and scared-looking. She gasped, "Pegasus… Pegasus told me… he warned me…" She gasped again when she saw him and saw how horrible he looked. "You… you all! Pegasus, your _face…_ Kaiba, you're _covered in blood_ …"

"It's a long story," Téa sighed.

"I'll explain everything, and I request that you do, as well. Please let me transport you to the boat dock. It is a long ride, so we will drive through the night and arrive in the morning and we can discuss everything there."

There was then the sound of a helicopter on the horizon. Ishizu looked up. "Good," she said. "I had called them for Pegasus…"

It was a tiny helicopter that was clearly meant for hospital transportation. Pegasus was led to it. The furious look in Seto's sleepy eyes immediately told us to not suggest that he go, too; even though I would have bet that he genuinely needed it more than Pegasus did.

Ishizu led us back to her limousine. I followed Tristan in and sat down next to him on the row of seats to the left; Seto sat next to me, and Joey, Yugi and Tea sat across from us. Ishizu got back into the front seat and told the driver to take us to the boat docks.

Sitting in this fluffy seat reminded me of how completely, unbelievably done in I was, and everyone else was clearly afflicted by this feeling as well. Next to me, Tristan folded his arms and slumped against the window; Joey and Yugi and Téa were all leaning on each other and all already had their eyes closed.

I looked up at Seto. He looked _horrible_ ; there were shadows under his eyes and he was extremely white. He was blinking a lot and breathing shakily and seemed to be trying to keep himself awake, for some reason…

"Seto," I muttered, taking off my suit jacket and cape and handing it to him; he draped them both over his shoulders (of course the jacket was too small for him to wear). "You look _sick._ You should try to go to sleep…"

He groggily looked down at me and considered me for a moment, before closing his eyes and nodding lightly.

I reached forward and put my arms around his shoulders and dragged him lying; his head rested heavily on my collarbone. I was happy to see that he was already completely out cold, wrapped up in my cape and coat. I leaned back against Tristan.

I was exhausted; utterly emotionally and physically exhausted. It was a strange feeling: accomplishment, because I knew that we had completed things that needed to be completed for thousands of years… but, everything that I am was pushed to my limits: the physical burden of sustaining monsters, the emotional burden of believing that I'd lost my brother…

I sighed and put my arms tightly around him. I needed this reassuring: I needed to feel his breath on my shoulder and heavy warmth over my heart. I closed my eyes and sighed again, and no longer resisted the shadow of sleep that had been chasing me for a while.

A bump in the road woke me up a while later; I opened my eyes quickly and glanced up out of the window. The sun was peeking up over the horizon; the sky was pink. Ishizu's voice was muffled, coming from the front seat. It was still very early. I wondered how close we were to our destination.

I lifted my head a little bit and looked up at Tristan, who I had been slumped back against; he was angled against the window and I had been able to lean against him comfortably.

I put my head down on him again and sighed contentedly, clinging to Seto tightly. I laid my cheek against his forehead and looked lazily around at everyone else in the car for a minute. Téa, Yugi and Joey were all completely out- Joey's arms were crossed and head drooped to his chest; Yugi's head was on Tea's shoulder and she was leaning against Joey. It was almost kind of stupidly cute the way all of Yugi's friends stayed together like this. I closed my eyes again.

Hours later, I yawned and retreated my arms from around Seto so that I could properly rub my eyes. "Sup," Tristan mumbled, looking down at me and shifting a bit. "Sleep well?"

I nodded sleepily and looked around. Everyone was waking up- still groggy, but they were all chatting lightly and chuckling. It was quite light outside- I wondered briefly what time it was. My eyelids were still heavy.

I rubbed my nose and looked down at Seto. Head heavily on my collar, he was still deeply asleep, which I was glad to see. Even now his breaths were steadier and deeper.

I chuckled, hand on the side of his head. "I'm thrilled. This is the most he's slept in weeks," I said jokingly.

"I prefer him that way," Joey insisted. "He's a lot less of a throbbing douchebag."

"Can we make rude jokes, Mokuba? Are you like… out of shock, enough?" Tristan asked, looking down at me.

"I don't care," I chuckled again. "I might could use a laugh."

"Good, then!" Tristan exclaimed. "Well, I'll say, then, that Joey, you're in for a tough few months- that kind'a wound means that Kaiba's gonna be shitting blood for the rest of the quarter, and you're probably gonna take the blunt end of his mood…"

Joey's eyes bulged and I scoffed but then smirked. "Shitting blood."

But then Joey's eyes widened. "Is he sleepin'?" he asked quietly. I nodded in response, and Joey eagerly said, "Let me see somethin'…" and picked up one of Seto's hands. Confused, I watched as Joey pressed his palm to Seto's. My brother's fingers reached a half-inch longer than Joey's. He scoffed and angrily dropped Seto's hand back onto the edge of the car's seat, grumbling angrily and swearing horribly under his breath.

"Told you, dude," Tristan muttered seriously.

The limousine then came to a slow stop. As everyone started to climb out of the car, I gently grasped Seto's shoulder and lightly shook him. "Wake up," I said. "We're at the boat dock." It took a little bit to stir him. Finally he rubbed his eyes and muttered something incoherent and I repeated, "Can you get up? We have to get on the ship."

He lifted his head off of my chest slowly and groggily and looked up out the window before sitting up the rest of the way. Now in the light of the morning sun I could see how he really looked, and it was just as I expected: pale, sick…

I followed him out of the limousine and we stood in the midst of the ship. Tristan was the last one out of the car and when we saw it, he exclaimed, _"Damn!"_

We walked up the ramp that led to the ship. Ishizu soothed, "I understand how tired you all must be. We are leaving this area, near Kul Elna… it will take a few hours to get to the Valley of the Kings, which is where I believe the Items must be truly destroyed- in the tombs in which the Pharaohs' bodies were buried; not in the room in which the Items were created and in which you all had your final duel with Atem. Please find empty rooms down these hallways and relax. I will talk with you all over dinner after we have left the Valley of the Kings."

We all wasted no time in taking Ishizu's advice. Yugi thanked her and we followed him and Joey down the hallway to the left (Joey, in the lead- he was shrieking loudly about how badly he had to poop). I followed Seto into one of the unoccupied rooms. It was a large bedroom; luxurious, sort of- there was a coffee table with a couch on one side, and then an inviting bed against the other wall.

Seto walked over to the bed. Without a word he set his deck of cards onto the bedside table and then collapsed onto the bed instantly fell still and silent. A woman came in a moment later and asked, in very shaky English, if we wanted spare clothes. I nodded, already very overheated in the long sleeves and long pants of my now very dirty suit. Soon she brought… what was, essentially, traditional Egyptian robes- spares that they had on the ship? I supposed that they wouldn't have lots of extra spare jeans or t-shirts on a ship… I thanked her and went into the bathroom attached to this room to change into the robes. I looked at myself in the mirror once I was done. This actually was a fairly cool outfit. Elaborate hieroglyph patterns ran along the hemlines. I looked good in a dress.

Tying the rope around my waist, I re-entered Seto's room and folded my tuxedo and set it on the coffee table. There was another knock on the door- Yugi was there, holding the Millennium Rod and Ring. He was also wearing the ship's change of clothes. "Here…" he muttered, entering the room. "Do you guys still want these?"

I only frowned at him and said nothing… Yugi smiled and set them both on the coffee table by the couch. "We'll get rid of them in a few hours," he told me, and then left the room again.

I looked at the bed. Should I wake him up to have him change out of the filthy clothes that he was wearing? Maybe… the woman had left loose pants and a button-down shirt made of the same color and material that my man-dress was made of.

I then thought of something else. I sat down on the couch and tapped the top of the Millennium Rod- before I could do more than think, the card flashed. Blinking stars out of my eyes, I looked up at Kisara, who was standing in front of me, looking sadly down at me. I smiled mildly at her and she sat down on the couch next to me and kissed my forehead. Arm around my shoulder, she said, "You have had quite a birthday."

"Tell me about it," I scoffed. She asked me if I was all right, and I told her yes. "I'm glad it's all over, though. I feel like we really accomplished something, you know, but I can't say that I don't wish a lot of things could have been different… Did you know what happened to him?" I asked quietly.

"Yes," she replied sadly. "I saw everything of that battle, of course."

"Yeah, you're the dragon," I chuckled mildly.

"I was so scared. I knew that I could only materialize like this if someone whom I wanted to see touched the Millennium Rod, and didn't think that the High Priest of Darkness would help…"

"Help?" I asked. "The High Priest of Darkness helped?"

"Well, the Akhenaden part of him did, yes," Kisara chuckled. I swallowed hard. Seto had seemed to mourn Akhenaden- I had to remind myself that Akhenaden and the High Priest of Darkness were not the same person.

Kisara stood up and left my side and sat on the side of the bed. "This will be helpful!" she sang. She twirled her finger in a kind of silly circle, but instantly Seto's horrible blood-stained dusty clothes morphed into the clothes that the maid had brought; the pile of clothes disappeared from the bedside table at the same time. I gasped aloud and she chirped, "Do not doubt my powers! There is nothing that I cannot do!"

"I shoulda learned that by now," I admitted, amused. But then I was surprised when I saw her slide her hands under Seto's shoulders and knees. "What are you doing?" I asked curiously. "Be careful with him…"

"I know," she chuckled again. "I also know that men particularly have an easier recovery when they know that they are close to their loved ones. Keeping contact like this helps them relax even when they do not consciously sense it."

"Really?" I asked. I watched her (somewhat awkwardly, because he was so much bigger than she was) gently cradle him; his head lied on her shoulder. He was still completely sound asleep.

"…I don't know," I muttered. "None of this seems that real, to me. Can you do something, for me…?"

"Of course!" she responded, and I said, "can you tell me exactly what that cut did to him? Like, how bad was it, really? I have to face it. I thought for a few hours that he was actually dead and …I don't know, I guess I have to, like, validate my sadness…"

She frowned at me for a moment, and then told me, "I can tell you which parts of his body were affected, is that what you are asking?" I nodded, and she put her thumb, pointer finger and middle finger on his abdomen for a moment, and then reported, "No, it was definitely life-threatening. The Millennium Rod's blade is about six inches long, so, it could reach things like his major abdominal artery."

"…if you hadn't been there, how long would it have taken for it to actually kill him," I gulped.

"Ten minutes, for someone his size," she told me sadly.

Ten minutes. Joey and I had been sitting on the ground after ten minutes. Spira had just left. I hadn't cried yet, at ten minutes. It hadn't even been today yet. By the time I'd cried and cursed the Millennium Items, Kisara had already saved him. It was okay. It was okay of me to sit there and cry and curse because by that time it didn't even really matter.

Kisara was smiling at me. I swallowed hard. I felt a little bit better already. He hadn't suffered for long. She'd come to his aid really fast and everything was okay.

But, a different heart-sinking thought dawned on me, then. "It's… it's the power of the Millennium Rod that allows you to be with us like this, isn't it…?" I asked hesitantly after a moment of silence.

She looked up at me and nodded. I frowned miserably. "Then… then, so, what happens when Yugi has to destroy the items…?"

Her face slowly fell to match my melancholy feelings. "I will not be able to appear to you like this anymore… no."

…I had been afraid of that. I looked at the ground. "I don't want you to leave, Kisara," I whimpered.

Her lip twitched and she slid her arm out from under Seto's knees and motioned for me to sit next to her. I did; she held me to her side. Head on her other shoulder, I whispered, "You should wake Seto up."

"Do you think?" she asked hesitantly, and I closed my eyes and nodded. "If… if our time together like this is limited, then… yeah, I think he'd want to be awake, even if he felt sick…"

She frowned at me for another moment before sighing and saying, "Yes, you are right." She carefully shook the arm that was propping Seto up.

His eyelids fluttered and then slowly opened. He looked hazily down at himself for a moment and saw his new clothes. He put his head back down on her shoulder and closed his eyes and muttered, "I'm not even going to ask, Kisara…"

"Do not doubt my powers!" she said cheerily. "Do you feel okay?"

"Fine," was the lazy reply.

"The nurse left bandages for you. Were you injured more in the temple? Can I help you, more?" Kisara persisted. Seto's eyes cracked open and he admitted hesitantly, "…It does hurt. If there is something that you can do, then, I appreciate it."

"Of course!" she sang. She set him back down on the pillows. He closed his eyes again, and she unbuttoned down his shirt and I really saw the wound for the first time, and I had to force myself to not gasp aloud. Because it had opened again in the temple a little bit, blood angrily stained his skin, and the cut itself looked livid and fragile- it was about five inches long, and a good six inches in every direction of the wound was really dark and bruised; Kisara sighed and scolded, "Seto, I know that you are probably not very good at tending to your physical limitations, but you were a little bit too active in the temple…"

"Fix it, then," Seto mumbled.

Kisara sighed again, but cheerfully drew her finger along the length of the cut- Seto took a sharp, quick breath and his face tightened- but, quickly relaxed; I watched as some of the bruising faded instantly. " _That's amazing_ ," I whispered.

"Yes… I mean, you all were not put in a position to be careful with such a wound… walking and fighting in the temple, and then, having to try to fit into that car… I can fix much of it," Kisara told me happily. "He will still have to be very careful with it, because it will be tender and delicate for a long time- but, there will be no permanent damage."

"I can't believe it," I began- as Kisara opened her mouth to tell me not to doubt her powers, I amusedly interrupted her, "yes, yes, I know, I know!"

"There," Kisara finished, and twirled her fingers again, and the gauze bandages dissolved from the bedside table and suddenly appeared, wrapped around Seto's entire torso. "Now, Seto, you must know to be hesitant to exert yourself, with this," she insisted. "I hate to tell you this, but this kind of injury means that you have to rest. …a lot. Really."

I laughed aloud, but Seto visibly frowned more. "Wonderful," he growled.


	29. The Most Beautiful Lotus

_**Chapter Twenty-Nine** _

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

The ship docked that afternoon; we exited it and were led by Ishizu and her guides to the entrance of one of the pyramids. Ishizu told us, "This is the tomb in which Atem, Set and Akhemnankhanen were buried. It was the wish of Set that this happen."

I frowned. Everyone else entered the pyramid behind Ishizu's torch-bearing guides. Mind disjointed as we walked down and down, I clutched the Millennium Rod…Rishid carried the wood, stone bowl and lighters that would make the fire that would destroy the items. I swallowed and turned around and told Yugi, "There is something that I want to see to, before I give you the Millennium Rod…"

The guards pointed into one hallway that clearly led to a room- they told us, "This is a hidden room near the surface, that graverobbers would not think to enter- but, this, here, is where Set lied the pharaohs to rest. He had cursed this hallway; anyone with cruel intentions would go down this hallway for eternity, never reaching the room at the end…"

"I want to enter," I told them firmly.

Everyone exchanged glances; Yugi then said, "It doesn't matter where we destroy the items. Kaiba, we'll just be across the hall… are you okay, alone…?"

"Good. Yes," I told them; one guard handed me an extra torch, and I left the group. I entered this chamber, and found candles lining the walls; I carefully lit each of them with my torch, and the scene became well-illuminated.

Satisfied with the light in the room, I set the torch on the ground, and it flickered dead. I was alone in this large, ornate room. Three large coffins sat elegantly at the other wall; all of my old carvings lined the other wall. Here was the tablet that I'd seen in the museum; that proclaimed my eternal battle with Atem; here was the tablet that held the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I held the Millennium Rod tightly. I felt tired and hazy.

I looked down at the Millennium Rod. It was sparkling innocently; like it had never been used in a battle… never been used to nearly fatally wound me…

That reminded me. I lifted up the edge of my new shirt to examine my wound. Upon seeing it, I was mildly surprised at how small the outside cut was. The cut itself was only a few inches long. It was horizontal and stretched from the side of my waist halfway to my navel; of course the large majority of the damage came from my inner organs that were incised. For a moment, I wondered what parts of me actually had been hurt. How close to tasting death had I really come?

I sighed. There had been a lot of blood… a few pints, if I remembered correctly…well, I'd get over it. My wound was stinging, but mildly- it had stopped bleeding again. I knew that I was going to be fine.

There was something left for me to do. I gripped the Millennium Rod and wished to see the last memory; the one final piece that was still missing.

This scene felt different. I looked around the room. There was a giant door on the far side; in front of it was a tablet that was fit with most of the Millennium Items. I recognized it as the room where the Tablet of the Pharaoh's memories was kept. The Puzzle and Ring were missing from the tablet; the other ones were present. There was a small box sitting near the tablet. What was in it?

I looked down at myself and was surprised to see that I looked like I normally did. I was wearing the white suit that Kisara had given me; I had light skin and short hair again. I was standing in this scene; but, not a part of it. I reached my hand out and tried to touch the wall; my hand went right through it. Why…?

I heard footsteps. Two people entered the room. Both of them were adults; the man in the lead looked like he was in his fifties or sixties, and he wore the Millennium Puzzle; the man following him was younger; perhaps in his thirties. He bore the Millennium Ring.

"I have never been in this room," the younger man said. I narrowed my eyes and approached him, assuming that neither man could see me; I couldn't hear my own footsteps on the floor. I stopped when I was a foot away from him. He was about three inches shorter than I was. He had short, full, choppy black hair and deep, dusty eyes.

" _Mokuba,"_ I whispered.

He, of course, couldn't hear me; he only kept looking up at the man in front of him. I couldn't believe it. This is what Mokuba was going to look like, in, say, twenty years? He's a handsome man; his eyes were deep and intelligent and face chiseled athletically.

The man in front turned around and smiled. I frowned. It was me; it was the Priest… only, as an old man. His hair was white as well as was his facial hair. I took an amused moment to smirk at how funny I looked with a full beard.

"It is alright," I had said. "I will not take long."

"Father…" the Mokuba-looking man started, but I had held up my hand to silence him. "I want you to understand what happened in the years before you were born. Please give me the Millennium Ring."

'Father,' huh? I supposed that it didn't surprise me that I had married someone else and had children… but, I found it strange that all of my memories were about Kisara, and not about what other women that I might have married. I supposed that I had been given a wife for the sole purpose of producing an heir to the throne; not necessarily because I was truly in love with the mother of my children.

The man who looked like Mokuba removed the Ring from around his neck and handed it to me. I had pulled the Millennium Puzzle from around my own neck. Both of the items had been in my hands.

"My cousin Atem," I whispered. "This is the last thing that I can do for you, now."

I narrowed my eyes as I watched the past version of myself pry apart the Millennium Puzzle into numerous pieces and set them gently into the box. Then, I had set the Millennium Ring into the slab. Now, all of the Items were present there. What was I doing…?

"What must I learn, here?" my son asked. Without turning to look at him, I said, "You understand the history of the small number of years when my cousin, Atem, reigned as Pharaoh."

"Yes," he replied.

"The Puzzle is the symbol of the Pharaoh… what you do not know is, that, in order to seal away the dark lord, Zorc, Atem sacrificed his own soul… sealing it, as well as Zorc, into the puzzle."

My son parted his lips, confused; I had continued, "Someday, Atem will be resurrected… someday, someone will put together the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle. Those will be the times in which Atem can be freed. And I… well… you know what I must do."

My son sighed forlornly. I had turned to him and said, "Do not be sad. This is the best thing that we can do for the future." I had approached him and set my hands on his shoulders bracingly. "It is my destiny; I accept this with honor."

"I know, father," my son replied, trying to be strong. I had smiled at him. "Do you know why I am happy, at this moment? Do you know why I feel comfortable, in leaving you?"

My son had responded, "No," and I had told him, "Geb, my heir; I leave you, because I believe in you. I believe that you will be a good leader. I believe that whatever decisions you make, regarding the Millennium Items- that they will be the right decisions."

He had not said anything for a moment; instead, his eyes gazed away from mine, and then, he muttered, "I have made a decision."

My eyebrows had raised; Geb had looked back up at me and whispered, "I wish to leave the Millennium Ring here. I do not wish to hold any Item while on the throne."

I had taken my hands off of his shoulders, surprised; Geb continued desperately, with tears nipping at his eyes, "I do not believe that they bring long-lasting peace, Father. I believe that they do only for the time being- in the same way Akhemnankhanen had found momentary peace but then caused the people to suffer, you found momentary peace- and, if I use them to reign, I will cause the people to suffer. Father, I know that you did the right thing when you were faced with your challenges- but, I believe that it is right that I keep the items separate, and away, and hidden. …do you respect that…?"

Even now I stared, lips parted in confusion; and Set, too, had looked this way- until, he smiled warmly, put his hands back on his son Geb's shoulders, and told him, "Then, it is so. Keep the items protected and secure, but, then, do not use them; do not remove them from this slab and use them, if you do not wish. There is power itself in that you can keep order and happiness in a nation using only your hands."

"I understand what you must do for your cousin," Geb whispered, still downhearted; "But… I do not believe that you need me for that journey. When my soul is reborn someday… I do not wish for him to know who I was; I do not wish for him to be plagued by the agonies that the Items bring. …is that selfish of me, Father?"

Set had encouraged him; Set had said, "You may allow yourself that. I hope that your soul finds happiness in the future. As for mine; I also know my path; it can be different from yours."

He still looked so disconcerted. Set knew this; he had kept his hands on Geb's shoulders and kindly suggested, " The most graceful of ibises knows the balance between sorrow and hope; knows that tears of grief and tears of joy can often be the same."

"Father, you are always saying that," was the bemused, stuffy rejoinder. I had said, "I learned this lesson from Atem. Promise me that you will carry it in your heart, always."

He had nodded, quietly assured me, "Eternally…", and we then hugged for a moment… I was saying goodbye to him? Then, I had let go of him and approached the tablet of the Pharaoh's memories. I had gently touched the top of the Millennium Rod.

"Someday, my soul will be reborn, as well; so that I may aid my cousin in his journey," I had mumbled. I had closed my eyes… I had muttered, "And, let me remember everything… let me someday know the events that occurred, here… do you hear this, Atem? Our battle is not done. I await the day in which we can battle together again."

There was a bright flash of light; I shielded my eyes. Then, when I opened them again, I saw that the Millennium Rod was glowing, and that my son had come forward to catch me as I fell… my eyes had been closed, and my son had sobbed gently over me. I stood in amazement as I watched the scene of my own death, thousands of years ago.

The scene dissolved; I was back in the chamber in the tomb. I swallowed hard… _incredible._ That was how my life had ended. I had given the last bits of my life to seal my own memory into the Millennium Rod, knowing that, however long later, I would need them again.

But… I was not satisfied, having seen that; because, Geb's wishes had not been realized. If his soul was alive in Mokuba, then, the items had still many times brought him tremendous sorrow over the course of his extremely short life. Perhaps Geb had been naïve in asking to break away from the chaotic line of events that his grandfather had inevitably set for him… still, I felt a pang of culpability.

…but, maybe Geb's freedom can start now. I would never tell Mokuba about who he really was. The Millennium Items were to be destroyed, today; Geb would in no way have to even glimpse them, again.

I looked up at where the three caskets were. All three of them were beautiful; solid gold, elaborately carved. I gulped. Three Pharaohs who had used the Millennium Items lied here. To the left, I knew Akhemnankhanen lied; middle, Atem; right…

…I laid my hand on the sarcophagus. It was a difficult concept to grasp- that, mere inches under my fingers, now, lied the first body that I had ever possessed. It had died thousands of years ago. It was strange to stand here.

I tore myself away from the sarcophagi and looked at the shrine that had been set up behind it. I chuckled when I saw some of the worldly possessions of Akhemnankhanen, Atem and myself. I didn't know which trinkets belonged to which of them, but I certainly recognized my own: sitting here were some of my gold bands, and my hat! My hat… that's funny. I brushed some dust off of it, but then remembered that everyone was waiting outside for me to finish seeing my last memory. I had to hand over the Millennium Rod.

Hesitantly and arduously I picked up my torch, re-lit it with one of the candles on the wall, and forced myself to leave this room and return to the chamber across the hall where everyone else was waiting. The candles in this room had been lit, too- I slowly walked up to Yugi. "You know what must be done," I whispered, and shakily handed the Millennium Rod to him. The gold tip left my fingers and my heart ached- Yugi muttered, "Yeah. I'll do the right thing."

Choked, trying not to hate the fire that I heard crackling and echoing in the room, I told him, "I don't want to watch you destroy them. I am going to go back to the room with the tablet. Come get me when you have completed it."

"Okay, Kaiba," Yugi said, and smiled consolingly. I looked away from him and turned to exit this chamber. I would never look at the Millennium Rod again. My heart ached.

I couldn't stay there. I left, and re-entered the room with the tablet and coffins. I was only in here alone for a moment; my hands trembled as I looked over my shoulder in response to the sound of a light breeze. Kisara had materialized behind me; but, she looked cheerless. She whispered, "You would stand here, as the Great Pharaoh… you carved the tablet, declaring your connection to Atem…"

Miserably I muttered, "You know that once Yugi destroys the Millennium Items, you will not be able to appear to me, like this…"

"I know. But, please know that I am always with you. I always was and I always will be." She approached me slowly and continued, almost fervently, "There is one more thing that I want you to see."

I watched as she walked away from me and went over to the wall where I had once long ago carved a picture of her. I hadn't seen, before, the small items that were lying not far from it. I set the torch onto the ground again and walked over to where she was standing, and my lips parted in surprise when I saw her pick up an enormous, elaborate golden ring; a sky-colored lapis lazuli the size of my thumbnail shone spectacularly on its front. "What is that…?" I asked, awestruck.

She turned around and smiled at me. "Karim," she said simply. "Karim had this made for you… he knew that it was his idea that we should be married; and he knew that I would have wanted to give you a gift, but could not afford one… he was going to give it to me so that I could give it to you on our wedding day, but before we could be married, Karim and I both met our deaths…"

I frowned. They had both died on the same day. Kisara continued, "Isis was left with the ring. She wanted to give it to you because she knew that was what Karim would have wanted; but, then again, it was supposed to be a gift from me, and Isis felt as though even if she gave it to you and told you that it was from me, it would not have been meaningful; so, upon your death, Isis left the ring in here, hoping that someday, I would get the chance to give it to you."

My eyes became wet. She was smiling at me; she spoke in a barely-audible voice, "After thousands of years, may I give this to you, Seto?"

I closed my dripping eyes, engrossed by the feeling of the heavy band that she slid onto my left ring finger. It was cool and solid; I then felt Kisara put her hand on my cheek and said, "I am so joyful that I got to see you, again… I hope you understand how very much I love you…"

She put her other hand on my other cheek and leaned closely to my face; she whispered, "And… some day, we will meet again, like this-"

I opened my eyes, knowing what she was talking about: the day when I would face death again; she softly continued, "On the day that you die a tremendously happy old man, we will meet again, and know nothing but to pass eternity walking through the clouds of Heaven, together…"

In awe I listened to her words. Then, tears burning at my eyes, I smiled at her- I couldn't help but smile; I couldn't help but know that in the same way that she had genuinely professed her infinite love for me thousands of years ago, she was speaking the truth now; she chuckled in response to my smile and said, "It is okay. I have waited for thousands of years; I can wait another seventy."

I didn't give myself time to chortle at that statement; I gently pressed her lips to mine. I never wanted to leave this moment. I had never felt so safe, warm and loved- never wanting this to be over, knowing that it would have to be-

…Then, I felt that I was alone. My arms were wrapped around nothing; she was gone. I sighed and wiped my eyes. I knew from the start that it would be an impossible love… I wanted it to be real. The Millennium Rod had been destroyed. … As it would never gleam even in darkness again, I would never fall in love again.

And, yet… I was not downright sad. Standing in front of the majestic stone slab, I stemmed my gentle sobbing. It didn't have to be the end. I just had to wait another seventy years. I composed myself and looked up at the stone slab that featured the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Thousands of years ago, I had kneeled in front of it. Now, I stood before it.

Time went by; I didn't want to leave this room. I knew that I always had the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with me… and, yet, I felt like leaving this room would mean leaving everything behind. This was untrue; but, it was difficult to accept that leaving this pyramid made everything so absolute. I just wanted to stand here and gaze at the stone.

I heard footsteps near me; then, I heard Joey call, "There you are."

I turned my head slightly over my shoulder to see that he was approaching me. He was holding a torch; he looked up at the stone slab for a moment, and then said, "Are you ready to go…? Yugi destroyed all of the items. It's done. Over."

I did nothing but give him a sort of approving hum as a response, looking back up at the stone. He sighed. "Sorry, man."

I shrugged mildly. "I suppose that there's nothing to be sorry about," I said flatly. He clapped me on the shoulder; I raised an eyebrow at him, and he said, "Come on."

"Very well," I muttered, submitting to the fact that I had to look forward. The past- whether it be thousands of years ago or merely minutes ago- was over.

"You know… someday we'll both meet the perfect women, eh?" he asked blithely.

I raised an eyebrow at him again. "Yes, that's true. You know, they say that opposites attract… best of luck to both of us, Wheeler. May you meet a beautiful, intelligent and accomplished woman, someday."

"Yeah," he replied dreamily, until he realized, "Wait, _opposite…? Hey!"_

I laughed as he seethed, "Damnit, you son of a bitch, I'm tryin' to help you feel better-"

"No, believe me, that made me feel better," I insisted. "Let's leave."

I picked up my torch off of the ground, and he let me light it off of his. We began to walk out of the room, but then, I got an idea that surprised even me… I said, "Wait, hold on a second."

I walked back into the room. Confused, Joey followed me. I went to the shrine where I had set my personal belongings thousands of years ago and lifted my crown. It was still well-made and strong. I turned to Joey and held my crown out to him. He stared, blank-eyed, at me.

"Wear it," I told him. "Go on."

" _Huh?"_ he asked, eyes widening.

"Wear it."

"No _way_." he said, clearly utterly bowled over. Then, when I continued to hold up the hat, he gasped loudly and exclaimed, "Oh, Kaiba! This means you accept our friendship!"

"Yeah, just because I made love to you tonight doesn't mean that I'm going to call you tomorrow- I'm just that kind of man. Now, _wear_ the damn thing so that we can get out of here," I growled, quickly growing goaded.

He snatched the hat out of my hand and dropped it onto his head and thrust his torch into my grasp and then started parading around the room, proclaiming, "Look at me! I'm the great Seto! I wank myself to pictures of dragons and pay people to torture themselves! I'm totally bad-ass with my little studded flowy ball-gown jacket!"

I sighed, wholly exasperated, as he continued, "I've killed over children's tradin' cards and I like to make my fleet of airplanes look like ridiculous characters! Wheeee!"

"Are you _quite_ done," I hissed.

"Yeah," he said, taking the hat off of his head, setting it back down where it was supposed to be, and wiping a tear from his eye. "Sorry, man, I've just _always_ wanted to do that."

I frowned. This was enraging. "I don't really know why you compel me to keep reminding you that you're an idiot-"

He sighed contentedly, took his torch from me, clapped me on the shoulder and sang, "Oh yeah? Well, at least I'm not a damn asshole!"

I followed him out of the room after placing my hat back among my other belongings. I glanced over my shoulder at this room one more time. Incredible…

Everyone was waiting outside of the tomb. The sun was setting gently behind the grand pyramids. "Come," Ishizu said, holding her hand back towards the limousine. "Dinner will be served on the ship for you all. I'd like to discuss everything."


	30. Tea Rose

_**Chapter Thirty** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

The limousine took us back to the place where the ship was docked. Immediately upon boarding I could smell fantastic fragrances of food; it reminded me that I was _intensely_ hungry. I hadn't thought about it until now, but it had been almost twelve hours since any of us had eaten anything.

Joey and Tristan felt the same way, apparently; they both instantly launched into "LET ME AT IT, WHERE IS IT, I SMELL IT" commands, shoving Ishizu out of the way to get to the dining room where the plates were all set up. I followed Ishizu (once she had picked herself up off of the ground) in, and chuckled at how Joey and Tristan were already carving the enormous glazed ham in the middle of the table. The table seated ten; Rishid and Ishizu sat at the extremes. I sat between Seto and Tristan, across from Yugi. Joey was between Téa and Rishid. He slammed a huge hunk of the ham onto his plate before finally handing the fork to Téa, who took it, humored.

Ishizu sighed heavily. "I must first apologize that these events have occurred at all. None of us ever could have dreamed that Zorc could resurrect himself even after the Tablet had been buried when Atem was set free…"

"Nobody saw it coming," Yugi said. "We can't have realized that Zorc was never defeated because Bakura's shadow game wasn't connected to him in the present that way. I knew that Zorc would have been resurrected had Bakura won the shadow game with Atem… nobody knew that Zorc could do it on his own anyway, later…"

Tristan muttered something completely incoherent through a mouth full of food. Joey said, "Exactly. Pisses me off," and stuffed his own mouth full of potatoes and ham.

I set a few slices of ham on my own plate and listened to Ishizu start talking. "Rishid and I both began being flooded with the memories of our past lives," she began. "We both came to know the Priests Isis and Karim and saw the events of their lives in what memories they had managed to seal into the Tauk and Scales… even though we were not holding them, it is not necessary that we be the ones. And, I understand we must not be the only ones realizing who we used to be…" she looked right at Seto. "Have you?"

Seto nodded curtly after a very brief pause where he narrowed his eyes in Ishizu's direction. "I feel as though I have seen all of the memories that Set left in the Millennium Rod."

"Incredible," Rishid muttered before taking a sip of wine from his glass.

"I knew to come find you all- the damage done to the building at Pegasus' party has been all over the news. I knew instantly what had happened and where to come find you all once the news reported that you seven had disappeared. Pegasus had confided in me," Ishizu mused thoughtfully.

" _Confided in you!"_ Téa exclaimed, amazed. "You knew he was being possessed by the High Priest of Darkness?"

"Somewhat," Ishizu replied. "He suspected it. He was very frightened… particularly the night that you were attacked in the park, Yugi. What had happened to him was that he was hearing voices from the Eye… voices telling him the truth of Zorc's return, voices telling him to do terrible things… it is how he knew to prepare you for Zorc's return, but also was under control by the Eye in terrible ways."

"Yikes," Joey said, carving another pound or five of ham.

"You must forgive him," Ishizu pled apologetically. "He fought it as best he could, I believe. He never intended any harm to any of us."

"Nobody hates him," Tristan said dismissively, waving his hand.

"Well, don't jump to conclusions. I, of course, hate him, but not for this particular incident," Seto interjected.

"Please tell us of the events that you witnessed," Rishid requested breathlessly. "We have all been worried."

"Where do we begin," Téa chuckled. "I guess you know everything about Pegasus training us and things like that. At the party, Joey noticed that Pegasus was acting weird…"

"Yeah, the room went totally cold and dark, and Pegasus started busting windows, and then all of us… I don't know, the world just went black, and we were in various places in the temple," I added.

"Kisara's the one who brought us all here. He shot a laser beam at you," Joey said pointedly, aiming his fork at Tristan, whose eyes widened and he breathed, "Shit, dude, I didn't know!"

"We met up after having a big fight with an army of Diabounds," Yugi continued explaining. "But, before then, you guys had run into Pegasus, under the High Priest of Darkness's control…"

"Yeah," Joey affirmed. "He showed up and challenged us to a duel."

Cutting a potato slice hesitantly, Seto grumbled, "I dueled him in a shadow game. He showed us the first bits of his power when he was able to abandon the game near the end and actually wound me, himself."

"You received an injury?" Ishizu gasped. "I was frightened when I saw you covered in blood, Kaiba…"

"Yes, he was able to stab me in the abdomen with the Millennium Rod. I'm ashamed of how he was caught me by surprise, like that."

"I thought you looked sick, Kaiba," Rishid pointed out. "Was it a bad wound? Do you need gauze?"

"Yes, that is all that I need; I will find the first-aid kit in my room and dress my waist with gauze. But, I should not be alive," Seto said simply, sipping from his water glass. I swallowed hard and slowly chewed on another piece of potato that I had just skewered on my fork. It was still difficult to listen to this story.

"I am glad that you were able to survive the injury," Ishizu said breathlessly. "Once you were all together again, what happened?"

"We finally reached the room with the Tablet, and, sure enough, the High Priest of Darkness met us there. He wanted our Items so that he could summon Zorc, of course- but we actually were kind of hoping for this, because we knew that we could fight Zorc once he was summoned…"

Both Ishizu and Rishid's eyes widened. She asked, "Did Zorc destroy the place in Kul Elna? There was so much rubble…"

"Uh-huh," Yugi said simply. "We defeated the High Priest and got the items from him, and then we summoned Zorc. We used Horakhty to defeat him."

"Horakhty!" Ishizu gasped. "The ultimate Egyptian god monster…?"

"That's the one," Tristan said happily, spewing potatoes all over the table. "

"That's astounding. I am amazed that you knew to control Horakhty, Yugi," Ishizu breathed. She stood up. "What an unbelievable story. Thank you all for telling it to me. Once you finish eating, you are welcome to claim rooms on the ship. I will take you to the airport. We should arrive there tomorrow morning and you will be taken home."

"Thanks very much," Téa chuckled. "I'll be glad to be home."

I looked around the table. I was tired and wanted to do nothing but relax and pretend that I was on a cruise for my birthday, but I wondered if Joey and Tristan would ever leave this room- Ishizu's statement, 'once you finish eating,' was such a qualifier!

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Seto Kaiba-_

I found Rishid sitting at his desk in his room, tacking away at his computer. I knocked on his open door and he turned around. "Kaiba," he said, startled. He turned around and was now sitting sideways on his chair. "Do you need something?"

"I wanted to show you something," I told him quietly, entering the room and standing a few feet away from him. "Ishizu said she knows of her ancient past…"

His lips parted and then he swallowed hard. "I know what you are about to ask, and the answer is yes; as you know, even if someone else is holding your item, you can still have memories awakened. You were able to see memories while Marik held the Millennium Rod; I was able to see memories while Tristan held my key."

"You know well the man called Karim, then," I confirmed.

He nodded. "The more I think of Karim, the more I can see scenes of his life playing in my heart," he added. "I may not have held a Millennium Item in this lifetime, ever, but… I believe that perhaps it isn't necessary when one yearns to understand the depths of their own souls. You know?"

I did understand that. I repeated, "Then, I wanted to show you something." I held out my left hand to him; the fantastic gold band on my ring finger glittered in the low sunlight that came from the window situated just behind Rishid. He looked confusedly at me for a moment, but then looked down at my hand and saw the ring.

His eyes widened and he drew a shaky breath; then, he whimpered, "Karim made that for Set … …I made that for you."

I smiled at him. "I wanted to thank you."

He brought his hand up to his mouth for a moment as he stared unwaveringly at my hand. He said, "I …I never got the chance to give it to you. I wanted Kisara to give it to you."

"She did," I assured him. "Isis had left it in the tomb. Kisara and I just today found it."

He looked up at me for a moment before standing up out of the chair and taking my hand to observe the ring further. He held it between his thumb and pointer finger silently as my hand hung from his. I stood and let him flood his mind with memories that I knew he must have been seeing: perhaps the downright moment of the ring's creation, or the last time he saw it when leaving it in his room with Isis, or…

"That's… that's incredible, Kaiba," he whispered, finally; he let go of my hand.

"Thank you for it," I said, again. "It's beautiful, really- how did you know to match it to the necklace that I had given Kisara?"

He chuckled. "I'm sure that I saw her wearing the necklace and knew where it came from."

"Good catch," I replied. "I'll always wear it. I'll cherish this gift."

Part of him looked surprised to hear these kinds of words coming from me; but, the other part looked genuinely touched. His eyes were certainly wet… I offered my hand to him and he shook it. I turned to leave the room, but stopped when I was almost to the door; without turning around, I added, "Karim was a good man."

Rishid remained standing and didn't say anything; I continued, "He was wiser than I was, in many ways, I think. He was a good man."

Rishid sighed contentedly. "You think so? Thank you."

I looked over my shoulder at him, nodded, and exited his room, contented.


	31. Iva

_**Chapter Thirty-One** _

_As told from the perspective of Mokuba Kaiba-_

I was surprised when I entered Seto's bedroom and found that he wasn't here. I exited the room and went back to the deck; I spotted him on the starboard side, sitting in a lounge chair, staring off at the dark riverbanks. I approached him; he heard my footsteps and looked up at me.

"Good evening," he said as I sat down in the armchair next to his. "Is something the matter?"

"Well, not really… it's just that it's still my birthday," I said, pointing at my watch. It was 10:15 at night. Seto turned his head just a little bit to glance at my wrist and chuckled. "Yes, it is. How does it feel to be thirteen?"

"I'm a teenager," I said. "So… I guess that means hormonal and rebellious. Right?"

He sighed blithely. "I'm sorry that we didn't do very much celebrating for your birthday today. When we get home I can get you a cake… we can reschedule the trip."

"I'm thinking we had quite a hell of a trip already," I scoffed.

He raised his eyebrows and asked, "You don't want to do a birthday vacation anymore?"

"It's not that I don't want to go on a trip, I guess…" I began. "I just want to take it easy for a while."

"I know what you mean," he said.

We sat in silence for a moment. The breeze was cool and refreshing; it nipped at us pleasantly and lightly picked at our hair. Even though it was comforting to be out here, like this, though, I still felt upset. Seto glanced down at me after a little while, and I knew that he could sense how I felt. He held his hand out to me, and I gratefully took it.

"Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?" I asked nervously. "You look white… does the cut hurt?"

"No," he said. "It's fine. It only hurts particularly when I move. I don't think that I need to receive a blood transfusion or anything like that. Really."

I lifted my head slightly and looked up at his face. He looked a little bit sad. "Are you thinking about Kisara?" I asked.

He turned his head slightly and looked down at me. Then, he sighed and said, "I do miss her. But, as we were saying goodbye… she helped me realize that she never is really away from me. Things will just go back to the way they were before I met her like this- she is always watching over me."

The corners of his mouth were just barely turned upwards. I reached out and took his hand and said, "I miss her, too. I really liked her."

It was true. It was hard to accept that she wasn't coming back like that, even though I had only known her for mere days- even having her for that long made me see her as the big sister- maybe even _mother_ \- that I never had.

Seto looked sadly down at me before saying, "One of my earliest memories took place exactly thirteen years ago…"

"The day I was born…?" I asked confusedly.

He continued, "Yes. I'll never forget it. I was in the hospital with Dad… he was mourning for our mother, but I didn't understand that yet; I was more interested in seeing what the _hell_ you were."

I laughed, and he amusedly continued, "I wasn't even five- I had never seen a newborn baby before. I had my little hands pressed up against your glass incubator and I asked Dad, 'That's the baby? He looks funny.'"

I laughed again. "I hope I've grown more handsome over the years…"

"Slightly," was the response. "Poor Dad… I think he didn't know whether to be thrilled at your birth or devastated at Mom's death or concerned at how I would respond to Mom's death. I asked him why he was crying; that was the first time that he tried to explain death to me."

"What did he tell you?" I asked, surprised that our father hadn't made up a story about Mom being on vacation or something. "I mean, did you understand…"

"He gave me the five-year-old's version, of course; he sat me in his lap and kind of composed himself for a millisecond and said, and I quote- 'Sometimes, when people get sick, there's a special place they go called Heaven. They have to stay there, and it means that we don't get to hug or kiss them anymore.'"

My lips parted. He sighed. "That was the first time that I realized that Mom wasn't coming back; that is when I started crying, too. Dad kind of went on, the best he could, 'But sometimes, if you listen hard enough, you can still hear them talk to you and sing to you.'"

He closed his eyes for a moment. Then he whispered, "I understood what he was teaching me. He said, 'There's something that Mom wants you to do for her. Will you do something for her, Seto?' And of course I wanted to do something; and he said, 'Since baby Mokuba doesn't get to meet Mom and hug her, we have to give him all of the extra love and hugs that Mom would. Will you promise me that you'll love baby Mokuba twice as much because he doesn't ever get to see Mom?'"

He was holding my heart as much as he was holding my hand, right now; eyes glistening, he said, "And, I made Dad that promise. I hope you know that."

I nodded; I couldn't speak for fear of crying. His smile faltered slightly and he said, "The reason that I told you that is because I also want to express how incredibly sorry I am that you had to see me get hurt, like that. You've had so much pain in your life… the last thing that you need is to believe for even a second that you've lost your last family member."

"It… nothing was your _fault,_ Seto…" I whimpered.

"I know," he replied sadly, "But it still breaks my heart that you had to suffer in the way that I know you must have."

I swallowed hard and sighed and wiped my eyes. "Thank you… thank you for saying that... I love you, big brother."

"I love you, little man. Happy birthday. Really!" He smiled at me for a moment before frowning; his eyes grew wide. "I've just remembered. I found something out."

I raised my eyebrows questioningly and he said, "I'm going to say something, and I want you to tell me what it means to you. Okay?"

"Sure…?" I shrugged.

He said, simply, "The most graceful of ibises knows the balance between sorrow and hope; knows that tears of grief and tears of joy can often be the same."

I knitted my eyebrows. "Seto, I don't get it," I began, but then my every nerve prickled and a chill went down my back. I felt short-of-breath with shock, but inexplicably I _knew_ ; I clutched at my chest and whispered, "What… what _is_ that…? I _know_ that phrase…!"

He said nothing; only smiled and looked back out at the river. "That's all that you'll ever want to know."

* * *

_As told from the perspective of Joey Wheeler-_

Tristan and I were leaning on the railing of the ship, staring out at the scenery. It was real dark but the ship's lights lit the embankment of the river so we could see some stuff. I felt melancholy. I knew that we were all reminded of the last night we'd known Atem. Exactly like this, I'd leaned on the railing of the ship. I'd felt the wind in my hair and I'd thought of all of the good times.

I sighed sadly, and Tristan sighed too, "I like to think of old good memories on days like this."

"Yeah?" I asked him. "I thought of a good memory not too long ago."

"There were so many," Tristan responded happily. "Which one?"

"Remember we shoved that guy into an outhouse?"

Tristan threw his head back with laughter. "Yeah, dude! I'm surprised that he didn't, like, poison our drinks or something, later. I wonder what he's doing now."

"He's used to the smell, so I bet he's a septic-tank-cleaner or somethin'," I said smartly.

"What else did we used to do to people who pissed us off?" Tristan asked thoughtfully. "I'm sure we've got lots of awesome events…"

I opened my mouth to respond with a really great story that involved a bag of cat puke and a waffle iron, but I was interrupted by Kaiba's voice from behind us- "When I was nine, I mixed toilet water into someone's soup thermos."

Tristan and I whipped around and saw him standing there- frowning, but…

" _Come again?"_ Tristan shrieked. "You _…huh?"_

Kaiba walked slowly towards us. Staring off at the distance, he continued, "One of the boys said something cruel to Mokuba, so later, I stole his lunch box, and waited for the hairy kid who never flushed to finish going to the bathroom, and then had another kid dump out half of the mean kid's soup, and then re-fill the thermos with the toilet water."

"You made another kid do it…?" I asked hesitantly.

"Of course," Kaiba replied, wide-eyed and disgusted. "I wasn't going to stick my hand in that water. I made another dumb kid do it. Once he'd made a nice mixture of soup and the hairy kid's piss, I put the thermos back into the mean kid's locker. I watched him eat from it two hours later."

Tristan and I stood in dumbfounded shock. Absolute disbelief. Then, Tristan found his voice and exclaimed, "Dude, you're awesome! You're _so awesome!_ Why did we not know this before…?"

Kaiba sighed. "Well, I'm only having this conversation with you cool people at all because I'm doped up on about forty different kinds of pills that the ship doctor insisted I take, but… yes, that story really did actually happen."

"You seem happier," I told him cheerily. "I like it, dude. You're still an asshole, but you're like, the funny kind of asshole that's awesome."

He sighed again. "It's a strange thing, to let go of hatred."

"Can we call you our friend?" I asked eagerly.

Silence for a moment, but then he muttered, "I don't know," and he walked off.

Tristan and I stared at each other for a moment. "Dude, that's the closest thing we've ever got from him. I'll take it!" he then exclaimed happily.

"There you guys are!" someone else said- a boy… someone who I'd never met before. He was short and had large, bright eyes. His hair was oddly-colored: his long, face-framing bangs were yellow, and the wavy black locks that hung halfway down his back were purpleish at the tip.

"Hey dude," I said confusedly.

Then, the boy spoke again- "Hey, Joey," he said, in… Yugi's voice?

…then I realized. Oh, _woah._ It was _Yugi_ , standing in front of me.

I stood in silence for a moment. Then, after minutes of trying to find my voice, I finally gasped, " _Y….Yuge! Dude! Seriously!"_

Yugi laughed. "I did promise you, right? Well, here. I just got out of the shower and I didn't style my hair. This is my hair, down, for just one night."

I couldn't _believe_ it. _No effing way._ He looked so _different_! Like, he was even shorter, of course… but, it was the damnest thing, because his hair was actually … _pretty._ Like, it was shiny and thick and actually looked pretty good, down like this.

He walked forward and stood between Tristan and me. I looked over at his face. He looked a little bit sad. I frowned at him and said, "You okay, man?"

Yugi looked over at me. He looked so _weird_ with his hair blowing in the wind like this. He sighed and said, "I miss Atem. I miss him all the time."

He turned his head back towards the setting sun and sighed sadly. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Being around here makes me think of him so much," he whispered.

"Do you ever stop thinking of him, though…?" I asked, bracingly.

Yugi frowned thoughtfully. "No."

* * *

The ship docked in the major port city and we were carpooled to the airport. Ishizu received a report from Pegasus' caregivers that he was in stable condition and had undergone surgery to insert a glass eye.

"It was wonderful seeing you all, again. Marik has been away at school, lately, but I will send your greetings to him," Ishizu told us all, as we left her and Rishid at the front dropoff. She and Rishid had bought the plane tickets for us.

At the airport in Domino City hours and hours and hours and hours later, our plane was greeted by a very hysterical Serenity, a couple of Kaiba's head worker guys, Bakura, and Yugi's proud grandpa. _"I didn't know what happened!"_ Serenity shrieked, throwing her arms around me as soon as she saw that we'd walked off of the plane. _"I saw that Tristan got hurt and you were gone and I was so scared, I cried for hours and nobody knew anything because Pegasus was gone and so was Yugi and Téa and-"_

"I'll tell you the entire story over a good cup of coffee," I told her happily and lightheartedly.

She sniffled and let go of me and stepped back and wiped her eyes and nodded at me and said, "Ishizu is the one who called all of us to come get you guys… she told us a lot of really scary things…"

"Really?" 

"Yeah, that you guys were in the temple and fought Zorc and it was really dangerous…"

"I promise it's all good," I told her. "None of us is hurt too bad."

She smiled mildly at me through tears, and then she went over to Tristan and they started _kissing_ and holy shit I _really, really don't like Tristan._

"In only a few days, a lot of things have happened," Yugi's grandfather laughed. "Everyone from the party was safely evacuated and no real harm was done to anyone. But, look at this!"

Grandpa held up a newspaper that was folded to the middle section, and I took it from him. The headline of this story reported that in western Europe, every fashion designer is following the trend of the most stylish businessman in the world…

 _Wait, what?_ I read the headline aloud, shrieking, _"Ziegfried Von Schroder Sets New Viral Trend! What the hell is this? Dude, everyone in western Europe is wearing tampons on their heads! Are you serious?"_

I furiously flipped through the pictures that were shown there. Tampon-shaped barrettes, hats, hat decorations, headbands…

Téa was totally laughing at me and so was Grandpa. "No! _No, that was our idea, damn it!"_ I shouted at Tristan. "Do you _see_ this?"

…no, he didn't see this, he was making out with my baby sister in the airport.

"You son of a bitch, _look at this,"_ I screamed, and I threw the newspaper at him as hard as I could.

It whacked him in the back and finally he let go of Serenity and growled, all annoyed, and said, "What, Joey," but then noticed the newspaper at his feet and picked it up and yelled, _"What? Ziegfried got three billion dollars of contracting from these fashion companies?_ Dude, that was _our_ idea!"

I noticed that Bakura had slowly gone up to Mokuba, while Kaiba was rummaging through paperwork that his aides had brought him. "I know that Pegasus gave you the Millennium Ring, to fight with," I heard him say.

"Yeah," Mokuba replied quietly. "I know you had a rough time with it, huh…"

"Well, we released the soul of the Thief Bakura, as well as Atem. I know that when you held the Ring, he wasn't here, anymore, even though Zorc was… but, please, I feel like I have to apologize."

Mokuba looked a little bit surprised. Yugi was paying attention to this conversation, too, and Bakura noticed this, so he started talking to all of us. "It was my ancient counterpart who started so much misery in the past," he said. "I know that Akhenaden had the largest part, but, still, my evil counterpart fought for Zorc's revival too. I am sorry to be associated with him."

"It's not you, Bakura," Yugi insisted. "We all know that, you didn't ask for any of it…"

"Yeah." He smiled peacefully. "I'm grateful that you don't. I still feel like I have to distance myself, sometimes, too. Thanks for being better at that, than I am!"

Yugi was smiling at him. I sometimes wondered if Bakura ever missed his alternate ego the way that Yugi missed Atem. Bakura's alter ego had been cruel and mean and a pretty big dick overall, but… well, he was part of Bakura, to an extent… the same way that Atem was part of Yugi. Atem was gone, but Yugi still pined for him and missed him as though missing a part of himself…

And it was then that I knew- I knew that, no, Atem was not gone. He lived eternally in our hearts, as our friendship all did- as we felt this forgiveness for Bakura, and as Kaiba extended his hand to each of us to say goodbye, and as then Serenity took my hand and Tristan took her other hand and everyone waved goodbye to Kaiba's people and we stepped out of the airport... Every day that we remembered Atem, and remembered everything that made him so incredible, and were grateful for what he brought to our lives: each other, and these experiences that made us love each other… well, that was one more day that he'd live on.


End file.
